Uchiha Kimiko
by Anastasia.akilina
Summary: Be sure to re-read chapters 41-43 as the story has been updated. I deleted all extra notes but 3 is is a story about Madara Uchiha's daughter, Kimiko. It tells about her life as she grows up without a family to guide her, in a village away from the one of her birth. The story follows Kimiko as she discovers herself, learns to make friends, and finally discovers her family.
1. Chapter 1

AN: I just refreshed everything in both this story and my other, and while I was re reading them, **I thought of a great plan**. I can't draw, but I know many of you probably can. If you would like, I'm starting a competition. Just send me a link in the reviews, or on private messaging of a drawing, sketch, or painting of your favorite characters from my stories. You may include characters that are from the actual universe, but all entries must include at least one of the stories OCs. I'll start the first drawing on March 1, but if you're just reading, don't worry. I plan to continue this for a while. Good luck, and happy reading.

Chapter 1

Overall description

Name:Uchiha Kimiko (child without equal)

Age: will age with story

Birthdate: June, 29

Parents: Father- Uchiha Madara, Mother- Uzumaki Kiminari

Height: 5, 5

Hair: Red

Weight: 105

Rank: ?

Favorite & least favorite food: Miso ramen and sweet rice with dango for dessert / anything way spicy, or way sweet

Favorite & least favorite hobby: learning new things / Being bored

Scared of: Needles, drowning, being alone and injured, death by fire, failing

Flashback

Kiminari's p.o.v.

As I knocked on the door to the office of the Uzokage, I couldn't help wondering if this was the best place to leave my daughter. I knew that as long as I told him I was unsure of her father's surname, she would be ok. However if he had someone who just happened to know that the man I had been with for the past two years was Madara Uchiha, then she and I were both off the deep end. I had to make sure I played all my cards perfectly if I was to ensure her safety. Since I was only twenty years old, I was sure that he would more easily accept me asking him to find her a new family, but what would he say when I asked him to be sure that she was sent away from Kokan no Mura?

When the Uzokage's assistant opened the door and allowed me in I was on the verge of tears. Even though I feared for my daughter's sake and wanted her as far from danger as possible, I couldn't set aside the want to hug her as close to me as possible and never let her go.

"Well, hello Miss Kiminari!" greeted the Uzokage. "What is it I can help you with today?" he asked looking to the very tiny bundle in my arms.

"Hello Uzokage-sama." I said, bowing. "I would like to ask you favor in finding someone from another village to adopt my daughter."

"Your daughter!? I was not aware you were even married yet." He said with a small chuckle, which slightly relieved my nervousness. At least he wasn't angry.

"Yes sir. She is only 3 months old. I've been married for almost two years now to a man named Masaru from a small settlement outside the village. Unfortunately, he died in the last Akatsuki attack, but I fear that the Akatsuki's next target is the village itself. That's why I want her to be sent away. I'm too young to really be a parent, and if the village is attacked I may need to fight. I just want the best future for her."

"Well, you realize that if she is sent to any other village, we must ask them not to train her to be a ninja, for if she inherited the Uzumaki chakra, however little, she will eventually learn where she came from. Unless, of course, you would like to see her later someday"

"I understand Uzokage-sama." I said, tears slowly running down my face. "I would rather her not know her history, she'd be safer that way. It would kill me to learn that she'd been killed in battle, or that she'd worked her life away on missions and never settled down." I looked directly into his eyes with as much seriousness as I could muster and said, "Send her as far away from here as possible, where she'll be protected by a strong village, and never have to worry about danger." As I finished, I kissed her forehead and sat her gently on the Uzokage's desk, and, after bowing again left.

AN: Everything, plus some new chapter, has just been re-uploaded, and refreshed.

Also I do not own any thing from Naruto; all belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, including the inspiration to write. I tried to research the kage for Uzushiogakure, but couldn't find one, so put what I thought was close to correct (if it was then he owns that too.) I totally made up Kokan no Mura: it means village of replacement, because it is like a replacement for Uzushiogakure (again, if by some craziness, there is a village with that name, it's his too). If I missed something please tell me so I can add it. :D

Please, oh please, oh please comment.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A.N. Kishimoto owns all except my characters-Kiminari, and Kimiko, and later characters. Also I'm probably not going to follow any of the story line except a few small things. I may take the characters outside their natural personalities, but that's because it's my story, and it'll add to it.

Gaara's P.O.V.

I was really beginning to wonder what I'd gotten myself into taking in Kimiko. At first she'd seemed like just an average little kid, but by the time she was 4 I had begun to wonder if I should go back on my promise not allowing her to train at the Suna academy. She was very intelligent, and at first I thought she'd just be an ordinary working villager. She seemed so calm and ready to learn, and she was a very polite child. And best of all, she'd never gotten into an argument or fight, until today.

"Kazekage-sama!" I looked up as I heard my title being called from the hallway. I stood and walked to the door, but just before I opened it, Temari burst in. "Gaara, come quick! Its Kimiko!" she said quite out of breath. I raised my eyebrow, a bit worried. What could have happened? I hope she didn't get hurt. Although her mother refused any contact with her directly, she had demanded a report on her daughter ever two months or so.

I followed Temari down to the academics only school, and for the first time in a while, my blank face gave way, and my chin nearly hit the ground. Off to the side of the play/practice area, was Kimiko and she was in a _**fight**_. The most well behaved child I had ever seen was in a fist fight, and not even with another kid, but with a boy of about 18 whom I knew to be one of the candidates for jonin. And what was even stranger about the whole situation was that he was lying on the ground trying to get up, while she held one of his own kunai to his throat demanding that he take something he must have said back. He didn't have any injuries other than what appeared to be a broken nose, but he was nearly incapable of moving more than a little. As I neared, he looked up to me with a look that begged for help, but I simply asked Kimiko, who had ignored me so far, what the problem was.

Kimiko's P.O.V.

As I sat on the chest of this extremely rude guy who had decided to get on my bad side, demanding that he take his insults back, I noticed that he was looking pleadingly up at someone. I had heard some of the nearby villagers call Temari-sama over to show her what was happening, and since she hadn't tried to tear us apart, I assumed she had gone to get her brother Gaara, the Kazekage. As I heard him approach, I stopped pressing down on the kunai I was holding, but did not back off any.

"Kimiko," he said, sounding a bit confused, "what's the problem?"

"This jerk was talking about me behind my back like he thought he knew everything about me. I was just around the corner when he started talking to someone about how I was the only kid he knew who didn't attend the ninja academy, and how I didn't deserve my name. His friend said 'We don't even know who her parents were. I don't see why the Kazekage even allowed her to stay here. She could be dangerous.' Then this jerk said back, 'She couldn't hurt a fly if she wanted to. She's not even been taught the first stance of _taijutsu_, let alone anything else. Funny, her name is Kimiko, but it seems even a mouse is stronger than she is. Of course, it still fits; everyone here is stronger than she, so in a sense, she does have no equal.'

"Then they laughed, and the other one walked away, but when this guy walked around the corner and saw me, he just laughed and pushed me out of his way. I would have let it go if he would have looked like he felt even the smallest amount of guilt, but when he shoved me something just snapped, so I asked him to take it back. Then he turned around and reached for my neck, but I ducked just in time. When he asked what I said, I simply repeated it, but with a polite "please". Then he reached for my neck again, but was too fast. He shoved me against the wall, and I knew my legs weren't long enough to kick between his legs, so when he pulled out this knife, took the advantage and punched his nose." I said with finality. The Kazekage sighed a little.

"Well," he said, "I think you've handled the problem this far, but I'll take it from here." To a nearby ninja academy student, he said, "Go and fetch one of the medical ninjas and tell them to come get him." Then to a nearby anbu guard, he said, "Stay here, do not allow him to leave until the medic is here. When he has been fully healed, bring him to my office." Finally, he turned to me and said in a soft tone, "Kimiko, I am quite shocked to find you in a fight, especially one you could have been severely injured from. What would I say if I had to explain this to your mother?"

"She doesn't really care. She only makes you send those letters, so that you think she cares" I stated with a stone faced glare.

"That is not true." He replied taking my hand and leading me to his office. I wanted to argue back, but at the same time, I wanted to believe it was true, so I stayed silent until we got into his office.

As he turned to me and knelt down to my eye level, I said, "Kazekage-sama, I really am sorry that I hurt him. I didn't mean to make him scream like that." As I finished I started to cry. I knew I had really, really, hurt that guy, and that when Gaara found out the whole story, he'd be really angry.

"What do you mean? According to the villager that called Temari, all he did was stare into space for a few seconds as you stole his kunai and put it to his neck." Apparently no one else had seen or heard him screaming.

"I…Uhm." I stuttered, then broke into sobs again.

"Do you mind if I ask him? If his story is different, you can say so." He spoke as though he believed me, but did not want to make me upset by telling him what happened; although, he knew that I would have told him if I had understood it myself.

AN: Don't forget about the drawing entries! If you would like, I'm starting a competition. Just send me a link in the reviews, or on private messaging of a drawing, sketch, or painting of your favorite characters from my stories. You may include characters that are from the actual universe, but all entries must include at least one of the stories OCs. I'll start the first drawing on March 1, but if you're just reading, don't worry. I plan to continue this for a while


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

A.N. Kishimoto owns all except my characters-Kiminari, and Kimiko, and later characters. Also I'm probably not going to follow any of the story line except a few small things. I may take the characters outside their natural personalities, but that's because it's my story, and it'll add to it.

Kimiko's P.O.V. from this point on, unless for a small moment

Even though I was very upset with myself, I was not uncomfortable in the Kazekage's office. I had spent many hours in here while Gaara asked me about school, and if I had many friends ( usually the answer to that was no, so after a while, he just stopped asking ). We had gotten to know each other quite well. He had told me why I didn't have parents ( although he only said that my mother had to send me away to stay safe, but never why I was in danger ), and why he didn't. I had a lot of sympathy for him, and empathized with not having friends as a young child.

Last year, when I turned five, he learned that I had never been given a birthday party at the orphanage, because the woman who ran it didn't have enough money to give any of the children one. So he and his brother and sister bought each of the twelve children a gift, and had a huge cake made. I didn't blow out the candles that day, because I felt bad being the oldest kid there, so I let the youngest child, a two year old boy named Yamaru, blow them out. Although I had no friends at school, I did get along with the children at the orphanage, because I guess they saw me as a big sister. Normally when a child turned six, they would be sent to the ninja academy to train, or if they possessed no abilities, like me, they would go the academics only academy. I didn't really mind going there, ( partially because I didn't know what I was missing at the ninja academy ) but I was still upset, because the orphans who attended that academy got an apartment of their own when they turned ten. It made me sad that I would have to wait until I was sixteen to get a job and rent my own.

As we sat there, Gaara doing paperwork, and myself thinking while I sipped from a cup of orange spice and ginger tea ( my favorite; he had asked an office assistant to bring up), there was a light knock on the door signaling that the jerk had been healed and had been brought her to talk to the Kazekage.

"Come in." said Gaara as he reorganized his desk. The door opened and in came that jerk. Although I was still ashamed of myself, I almost laughed at the two black circles developing around his eyes. He would look like a raccoon tomorrow.

He stiffened when he saw me, but said nothing. He walked closer to Gaara's desk and bowed,"Kazekage-sama."

"Nice to see they left you with a tad less dignity, Anaki." Replied Gaara. "That means I won't have to punish you as severely, since you've already punished yourself." A small smirk. "As I understand it, you and one of your friends had a good time making rude comments and jokes about a _six_ year old earlier today. So, what do you have to say for yourself and to Kimiko?" It was amazing to see the effects of the stern look on his face mixed with those words that were spoken so calmly, but with a threat behind them that said 'just try me child'.

This "Anaki" hung his head shamefully. "Kazekage-sama, I am sorry that I have disappointed you, but she _is _dangerous."

"Enlighten me." Was Gaara's reply.

"Well, after she hit me, something happened. It was like everything just disappeared. I was all alone in the middle of a room. It seemed like I was there for weeks, and all I could feel was searing pain in my chest." He looked like it pained him just to remember the experience. "When I came too, she had my kunai to my throat, and was demanding that I take back the insults, but I was still too shocked to say anything."

Gaara's usually indifferent face rose a little where there should have been an eyebrow. "Well I can't imagine her ever doing something to hurt anyone else. She must have been very hurt by what you said. So, I have decided that, for your punishment, Kimiko will get the payment from your next three missions, the first mission starting today. You will go to the Konoha and ask the Hokage to allow Kakashi Katake to come to Suna. I believe he has some information that could be helpful to us."

With that "Anaki the jerk" left to prepare for his mission. Then Gaara turned to me and said, "Kimiko, you will stay at my family's estate until further notice. For now, we need to keep you out of trouble." He said with a small smirk. And with that he took my hand and led me to his house.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

A.N. Kishimoto owns all except my characters-Kiminari, and Kimiko, and later characters. Also I'm probably not going to follow any of the story line except a few small things. I may take the characters outside their natural personalities, but that's because it's my story, and it'll add to it.

Gaara's P.O.V.

After I had sent one of the estate's chunin helpers to give Anaki my letter to the hokage, I went downstairs to look at today's mail. I never really got much at home, because it usually went straight to my office. However, today I had a rather large bundle with a couple letters attached. As I looked at them I noticed that only one was addressed to me; the others were addressed to Kimiko, and they were from her mother. As Kimiko had never received anything from her mother, I asked Kankuro, who was just lying on the sofa, to call her down to get them.

"**Kimiko! Could you come down for a minute?" **…Not exactly what I meant.

Kimiko's P.O.V.

"**Kimiko! Could you come down for a minute?" **I heard Kankuro yell. Wow, he was being really lazy today.

As I ran down the stairs I saw Gaara standing in the living room holding a large package with a letter attached.

"This is for you." He said with a small smile. "It's from your mother."

_From my mother? I've never gotten anything from her. _I thought as I unrapped the package. It was a bundle of clothes some that were smaller-almost small enough for me- and some that were much bigger. Altogether there were eight shirts with enough pairs of pants for each. As I looked at them trying to figure out why they looked so strange, I realized that it was because they weren't normal civilian clothes; they were ninja's clothes. I was still pondering the oddity of my mother sending me these clothes when I remembered the letter. I picked it up and opened it. It read:

My dear Kimiko,

I know I've never written to you before, but it was because I knew you would have so many questions to ask that I wouldn't be able to answer. Now, however, I am going to tell you everything, because, if this letter is ever sent to you, it is because I died before the war was over, before I could tell you myself.

You were born to your father and me in a time where war was everywhere within and around our village. When Uzushiogakure was still in existence, I met your father in a small settlement not far from the village. I was heading back from mission when I saw him sparing with what appeared to be a relative. I was tired from traveling all day, so I decided to watch from a distance for a while. As they continued, I realized how easy they were going on each other. They weren't even practicing, they were playing around!

They had been at it for almost two hours when the other one started laughing and said, "Hey brother, I think you have an admirer." I hadn't realized how close I'd gotten until he said that. I then realized that I had also been favoring your father; although the other was very good, your father, I could tell, was less tired than he. I almost ran from embarrassment, but something in the way that he looked at me said that he had enjoyed hearing that someone was amazed with his talent at fighting.

Well, I think you can guess what happened next. We fell head over heals for each other. He admired the fact that I was not afraid of him, or really anything, and he loved that I could be as stubborn as he. (I really hope you didn't inherit our stubbornness, but even more, I hope you didn't inherit his arrogance.) I loved how strong and wise he was and he always said that I was the only one other than his mother who could make him show his soft side.

Later, when the settlement outside the village was destroyed an organization called the Akatsuki, I returned to the village. I didn't want you in anymore danger, so I had you sent away. I also had to lie to the Uzokage; I told him that your father was just an average civilian who lived in the settlement. I wish with all my heart I could tell you who your father really is, but I fear that would put you in more danger than you would be had you stayed here. Just know that everyone does bad things and makes mistakes, but that doesn't make them a bad person; bad people are people who do bad things or make mistakes, then leave them unresolved. Always keep in mind that any bad mistakes your father and I have made have either been to protect you-by sending you away-or protect our friends, and that none of those mistakes can be placed on your shoulders; they are our faults, and ours alone.

I have placed in this package several sets of ninja attire in hopes that you will one day use them-if they still fit. My original request was that you not be trained to become a ninja, so that you would not meet an early death, and so you had less of a chance to ever find out about your family and its past, but now I've decided I was wrong. I want you to make your own choices-try to make them good ones-and to live life to its fullest. I am sure that the Kazekage, whoever they might be, will understand and help you find your way. I wish you all the best of luck a mother can wish for, and I'll pray for you until my last breath.

As much love as I can give,

Mom(Kiminari)

As I finished her letter I wanted to cry, but I didn't want to look weak in front of everyone; I hadn't given in to crying so easily, aside from earlier today, since the older kids at the orphanage had teased me about it so much when I was three. I looked up when I heard Gaara sit down, with a heavy thud, in a nearby chair. His expression was a little saddened, and I wondered what was wrong. Then he looked up to me and said,"Kimiko, tonight we are to get the rest of your belongings from the orphanage. You will stay here until Kakashi Hatake arrives, then we shall see if you will be going with him, or staying here."

I knew something was wrong, but I wanted to know what, so I asked him, "What's wrong? Why do I have to leave the orphanage?"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

I knew something was wrong, but I wanted to know what, so I asked him, "What's wrong? Why do I have to leave the orphanage?"

He looked me in the eyes and said solemnly, "Your mother is dead, Kimiko. She was killed in an Akatsuki attack almost a month ago. When they found her will, they sent it straight here, along with your package." I stared back in shock and he continued, "In her will, she requested that you be trained as a ninja and, if you ever discover your kekei genkei, that someone teach you to use it."

I continued to stare back blankly for a moment, then, "What's a kekei genkei?" I think he expected another response, because he looked at me in an odd way, but then said:

"A kekei genkei is a special ninja ability that is passed down from parents to their children. They are only within certain clans, and usually stay within those clans." A pause, then, "Kimiko, aren't you upset that your mother is dead?"

"Yes, but what can I do about it?" I said. I really just wanted to cry at that moment, but at the same time I wanted to start learning about being a ninja; I knew I couldn't do anything to bring her back, and I knew she'd want me to be strong, like her and my father.

He thought for a moment, then said, "You are a strange one." Then he reached over to pat my head and said, "Well, since we've got time before dinner and you have a new wardrobe, why don't we find Temari and start teaching you some basics?"

I smiled a little, but when he smiled his small smile back, mine turned into a full out grin. I ran upstairs and pulled out the smallest set of clothes in the bundle-which were still a little big on me- and neatly placed the rest in a drawer then pulled my hair out of my face with a hair band and ran as fast as I could back down stairs.

I had to wait a couple of minutes for Gaara and Temari to come back down stairs, but when they did, I noticed that Temari had a pair of sandals in her hands.

"I found one of my first pair of ninja sandals. You can use them until we can get you your own pair." She said with a smile.

"Thank you so much Temari-sama!" I said, giving her a hug.

Temari and I went out back and when Gaara had found a dull set of ninja equipment he came out of the house too. We spent about fifteen minutes talking about the different weapons that he presented to me. He explained what each one was, common uses, which weapon belonged in which pouch, and how to care for all of them. Then he carved out a target on tree a little ways away. When he came back he asked me if I had any questions. When I shook my head no, he had Temari show me the correct stance and form for throwing kunai-the big long knife things- and shuruken-the little star things.

"O.K. When I say go I want you to throw those shuruken as hard, as fast, and as accurately as you can." Said Temari.

I nodded, then threw them just as she had taught me. I was really surprised. They all hit the tree. The first one barely made it and was way off target, but the rest were inside the lines, and one even almost hit the bulls-eye. She seemed really proud of me that I did that well, but I was far from pleased. I asked her if I could try again, and ended up trying six more times. By my last try they were nearly all side-by-side and fairly close together.

Finally she laughed and said, "I think that's good enough for today. Besides, if you don't quit practicing with those, you won't get time to practice with the kunai." At that, she had my full attention, and she handed me the kunai pouch which I strapped to my leg like Gaara said it should be.

An hour and a half later of practicing throwing the shuruken and kunai at the tree, and a few tries throwing senbon at a pile of loose dirt, we headed inside to have dinner. And later, when I was finally alone in my room, I sat wondering if my mother was proud of me and if my father would have been; and for the first time in a very long time, I cried myself to sleep.

AN: Don't forget about the drawing entries! If you would like, I'm starting a competition. Just send me a link in the reviews, or on private messaging of a drawing, sketch, or painting of your favorite characters from my stories. You may include characters that are from the actual universe, but all entries must include at least one of the stories OCs. I'll start the first drawing on March 1, but if you're just reading, don't worry. I plan to continue this for a while


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

A.N. Kishimoto owns all except my characters-Kiminari, and Kimiko, and later characters. Also I'm probably not going to follow any of the story line except a few small things. I may take the characters outside their natural personalities, but that's because it's my story, and it'll add to it.

Gaara's P.O.V.

I woke up to the sound of small feet running up and down the hallway downstairs. It had been four days since I sent my letter to the Hokage, and young Kimiko had progressed extremely fast. Her aim was nearly perfect; she only missed occasionally when she was throwing senbon. She had learned basic chakra theory, and absorbed many other things that Temari had taught her; and she still pressed to learn more. Every morning she would set herself a small goal or two that she would make possible by the end of the day. Apparently today had something to do with running.

Kimiko's P.O.V.

This morning when I woke up, I remembered the small set of ankle and wrist weights that Temari had given to me a couple days ago. I decided that today I would see if I could train in them. As I sat up, I looked at the small clock on the bedside table. _What?! It's only 4:30?!_ I knew that I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep; I had always been a very light sleeper, and once I was really awake, I stayed that way until I was really tired again. "Well then," I said to myself, "I guess running in the downstairs hall won't disturb anyone." And with that I lifted the weights, placing two pounds in each ankle weight holder, and carrying the wrist weight holders and about eight pounds of weights, went downstairs.

After about thirty minutes of paced jogging, I was starting to get a little tired, and a lot hungry. I decided that I would jog the hall ten more times each way, then I would stop for breakfast; by that time at least someone else would be up…hopefully.

I was on my way back down the hall-I had one more time to go both ways-when I heard someone's feet hit the floor on the level above. It sounded like it came from Gaara's room-good, someone who can actually cook.

I would never have told either Temari or Kankuro that they couldn't cook, but I'm sure that Gaara would have at some point if he had ever eaten their food. Although he usually made breakfast for everyone, he normally only had a cup of coffee or two for himself.

I suppose, when he woke up, he heard me running-the weights made my feet heavy and loud-, because once he was down stairs he rounded the corner to see exactly what I was doing. Just as he came around the corner, I was starting on my last run down the length of the hall. "If you hurry up, I'll make your favorite-ham and cheese omlets." He said with a small smirk, and with that I sped as fast as I could-with my seemingly renewed energy-down the hall and to the kitchen.

After we had eaten and the others had woken up, Gaara, Temari and I headed outside. Today they were going to test me on what I had learned over the past few days, and if I did well, then I would get to start learning simple chakra control.

"Alright, Kimiko." Said Temari, "Name each of these weapons, and their main uses."

I looked down at the weapons in front of me and pointed to each in turn while listing their names and uses. "Kunai-long distance and stealth; can be used for throwing letter bombs. Shuruken-close to mid-distance and stealth; also used as a distraction. Senbon-mid to long distance and stealth; can be used to kill or immobilize the enemy. Letter bombs…" A small pause. I really didn't know how to describe these any further so I simply said, "Bombs." After that, we moved on to my basic taijutsu and stances, as well as target practice. I passed everything with, according to Temari, what the ninja academy would call exceeds expectations.

Finally after all that was done, she said that I could start my basic chakra control. She gave me a few simple exercises to practice throughout the rest of the day. The first one I worked on was trying to "feel my chakra." After about a half an hour of feeling what I guessed it felt like, I decided to try the next-holding something to my palm while it faced down, or holding something to the bottom of my foot. After my first five or six tries, I succeeded in holding a pen, a mug, then a book, under my hand. I then went on to try this with my feet, and since I had already gotten the feeling of how to do it, I managed to hold the kunai to my foot after my second attempt.

A little while after lunch, I showed Temari my progress, since Gaara had to go back to his office, and asked her if I was doing everything correctly. Her reply was to simply take my hand and lead me outside. At first I thought I was doing something wrong, and she had brought me out there to show me how to correct my mistake. However, she simply smiled at me, and while pointing at the tree we had used for target practice, asked me if I was up for a challenge.

"Of course…What's the challenge?" she looked at me kinda funny, and asked me if I'd ever seen the kids at the ninja academy.

"No, not really. I try not to go past there. When I was little, Gaara-sama told me that I wasn't allowed to go to that school, so I never even thought about passing it." I also hadn't wanted to put up with the kids that I'd known from the orphanage; all they did was tease me, so why go looking for trouble?

"Well, once you've gained enough control over your chakra, you can focus it onto your feet, like you did when you held the kunai, then you can use it to walk up things like trees." My eyes grew huge. _You mean, you can actually do that?_ "Once you get good enough, you can hang upside down from branches too, and sometimes, you don't even have to run on the ground; you can simply jump from tree to tree."

I was really amazed that someone could really do all that. I asked her if she'd show me first and she agreed. As she walked up the tree, I tried to imagine how she sent her chakra to her feet, and when she was done I was ready to try. I stood in front of the tree for a moment, trying to send my chakra to my feet, then took a few quick steps toward the tree. I made it up about six or seven steps, then fell to the ground. I sat there for a moment and thought about what I'd done wrong.

"Are you alright?" asked Temari.

"Yes." I said, "I'm just thinking."

"Ok, well when you think you've got the hand of it, call me back out." I just nodded.

I thought about how chakra moves through the body, and how it would travel to my feet. I tried it out a couple more times just sitting there. Then a thought hit me: I had only lifted a small kunai when I was practicing; I hadn't tried lifting anything heavier. _Maybe_, I thought, _I have to think of the tree as something heavier, because I'm _heavier_._ "I think I've got it," I called to Temari, who was just inside the kitchen.

She came out and saw me still sitting on the ground, and gave me an odd look, but said, "OK, let's see then." I stood up, took a few steps back, and went at the tree again. This time I focused my chakra much harder and even made it up to the first limb on the tree-which had to be at least nine feet off the ground- when Temari yelled for me not to go any higher up. As I stopped, I realized why she didn't want me too; I had left marks all over the tree where I had walked up.

I jumped from the branch and landed next to Temari. "What happened?" I asked her.

"You burnt the tree with your chakra." She replied. "That happened a lot with beginners. You used a little too much chakra but you still have the hang of it. Why don't we go in and start getting ready for dinner; you can even help this time."

"But I wanted to practice more." I said.

She laughed and said, "Fine, but try not to overdo it, OK?"I nodded, and went back to practicing while she went inside to plot our deaths at tonight's dinner.

When she finally called me inside, Gaara and Kankuro were back, and "dinner" was ready. Although I really enjoyed the miso ramen she had bought from the store -microwaveable, and ready to heat foods were the only things she could really cook- I didn't exactly care for the rice she'd tried to make. Luckily, I was starving, and Gaara was there to back her up; he'd bought some ginger senbei, and ingredients to make sushi tomorrow.

When "dinner" was done, I drug Gaara and Kankuro outside to see my progress. They both seemed very pleased. After they left, I stayed out and -now with the weights on- practiced and reviewed everything I'd learned over the past few days. Once I was satisfied with my work, I picked up my things, and headed to the guest bedroom. As I walked up the stairs, I realized just how sore I was going to be tomorrow.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

A.N. Kishimoto owns all except my characters-Kiminari, and Kimiko, and later characters. Also I'm probably not going to follow any of the story line except a few small things. I may take the characters outside their natural personalities, but that's because it's my story, and it'll add to it.

Today when I woke up I thought I wouldn't be able to get out of bed; I was so sore and stiff from yesterday's training. _I think I know what Temari meant by don't overdo it._ I thought to myself with a little laugh. But then I remembered something I'd heard one ninja academy sensei saying to their students, the time I'd seen them out in the village: 'No pain, no gain.' I sure hoped that meant I'd gained something from this, because I felt awful.

After a nice, hot shower, I felt much better; I was still a little sore, but the stiffness had gone away. I went down stairs to get some breakfast, but stopped when I saw Gaara talking to an older guy I assumed to be a ninja. He had grey hair, and a green vest on, along with a mask covering all of his face except his right eye. For some reason, I already knew this guy was going to get on my nerves

I started to sneak around the corner, when he looked up and saw me. This made Gaara turn to see who he was looking at. When he saw it was me he said, "Kimiko, could you come here please?" I changed my direction, and walked over to them. "Kimiko, this is Kakashi Hatake." I bowed a little. "He is a jonin from Konohagakure. I've asked him to come here to figure out exactly what Anaki saw, since neither of you can describe it. He is well learned in many kekei genkei and thinks that the accident may have been caused by one that you may possess."

"Hello, Kimiko." Said the Kakashi guy. "Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?" He asked. I guess he wasn't as bad as I thought, but I still got the feeling he'd have some major flaw somewhere. I nodded, and sat down.

We talked for about an hour. He asked all kinds of questions like: my age, if I had many friends, where I grew up, what I knew about my parents, and many other things. When he asked about my parents, I told him about the letter I'd received from my mother recently, and he asked if he could see it. When he was done looking at it, he asked me if I had started my ninja training yet, and when I said yes, he asked to see what I could do.

I took him out to the back to show him what I'd learned. _Well since he wants to see what I can do, then maybe we will get along. _I thought. _Maybe he'll even teach me something new while he's here._ After I'd shown him my taijutsu, stances, and targeting, I told him all I knew about chakra theory. Then I brought him over to the tree. When we got there I laughed little in embarrassment when he saw the burn marks on the tree. "Well, at least we know you've got a lot." He said rather quietly. "Let's see if you've improved then."

With that I focused my chakra and walked straight up the tree until I was about twenty feet off the ground, then walked out to a branch, and said to myself with a small laugh _Wow! How am I going to get down?_

"Well, then." He said looking up at me. "How long have you been working on this?"

"Well," I said, "Temari-sama taught me chakra control yesterday, and when I figured that out, she taught me how to do this. Those marks are from the second try." I said carefully walking down the tree's trunk. "I barely made it off the ground the first time." I said with a smile. He then wanted to know how I figured it out, so I told him how I'd thought of it as lifting something really heavy with my feet. He seemed pleased with my theory.

When we went back inside, he told me he needed to talk to Gaara. So I went to the kitchen and had some cereal for breakfast; man, I was starving. When I'd finished, I cleaned my bowl and headed to the living room. As I expected, Gaara and Kakashi were in there talking, but when I entered the room they stopped. Gaara stood up and excused himself; he had to go to work.

Kakashi made a face that I assumed was him smiling underneath his mask, then said, "Do you mind if I draw some blood for testing?" What did he mean by that? I guess he saw the confusion on my face, for he asked me to sit down while he pulled, out of his pocket, a small pinchy looking thing.

"All I have to do is stick this to your finger, and press this button. It'll pinch a little at first, but once I get just a little bit of blood from your finger, you'll be good to go. OK?" I really didn't like the sound of that, but I knew that Mom and Dad would want me to be brave about it, so I looked away as he started to put it to my finger. A moment later, I heard a 'click', but felt no pinch. _Well, that's a relief._ I watched as he squeezed my finger to try to get enough blood, into the little cylinder, to test. Unfortunately, he ended up having to do a second finger too, because he couldn't coax enough out of just one, because my hands were so small, and my body was apparently 'naturally healing itself".

"OK. All done with that." He said. "I'll just take this down to the hospital, and we'll see if we can find out any more about you. Alright?" I nodded. _What was he talking about?_


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

A.N. Sorry I've been forgetting this, but: Kishimoto owns all except my characters-Kiminari, and Kimiko, and later characters. Also I'm probably not going to follow any of the story line except a few small things. I may take the characters outside their natural personalities, but that's because it's my story, and it'll add to it.

Kakashi's P.O.V.

As I waited outside the blood-works room, I wondered if this little girl could be related to Naruto. We knew her mother was an Uzumaki, and so far she seemed to have taken those physical traits. One thing I'd noticed, however, was that she was very quiet, yet you could see she liked to show her skills. She had most definitely inherited the arrogant gene from her mother. Now all we had to do was try to figure out who her father was. According to her mother's letter, she had lied to the Uzokage about who her husband was. She had said that Kimiko would've been in danger had she, or-more importantly-anyone else known who he was. This brought up several more questions: was her father a defect, a runaway, a missing nin, or worse?

As I sat thinking about the possibilities, the doctor in charge of the blood works, came out of the room, with the results. "Well, shes definitely got a Kekei Genkei. Two, infact. We can't exactly tell what they are though, because they're too closely tied." He said.

"Well, what kind are they?" I asked.

"We think they stem from her eyes, but again, the readings are so strange, that we can't be for sure. One could be from the eyes, while the other isn't, but they are still very closely bonded." With that, I nodded, thanking the man, and left. There weren't many eye related Kekei Genkei. That meant that she either had some new form due to strange genetic mixing, or she had the rinnegan, which was occasionally seen in the uzumaki clan, although the chance of her learning to use it was slim.

Kimiko's P.O.V.

By the time Kakashi finally returned to the estate, I realized why I knew I wouldn't like him: he was late. WAY late. He'd left before lunch, and now he was returning after dinner. He'd said he'd only be gone about two hours, yet here it was six hours later. He'd better have a good excuse, because Gaara wasn't one for people being late.

Surprisingly, Gaara just ignored the fact that he was so late. I suppose he's known him for a while, and has gotten used to it. Once Kakashi had eaten, he and Gaara went to the living room while I was sent outside to train some more. When they finally called me back in I was dripping with sweat and really just wanted a bath.

Gaara spoke first. "Kimiko, tomorrow you will pack you things; you'll be returning with Kakashi to the leaf village." WHAT! _But I'd just started my training, and I was beginning to enjoy staying here._ I thought, though I said nothing.

"I will be your sensei now, Kimiko." Said Kakashi. _Well, at least I don't have to quit. I am going to miss this place, though._ I nodded. He continued, "When you get there, you will not study at the academy, but I will teach you everything you need to know. We will see how you do, and , if you meet genin requirements, then in two months' time, you will return here to take the chunin exam." _Wow! They must think I'll do pretty well if I'm going to get to become a real ninja._ I nodded.

That night I packed my things, after taking a shower, and lay down on the bed trying to think about what Konoha would be like. I was really excited, but at the same time, I was really sad that I had to leave.

The Next Morning…

"We're all really going to miss you." Said Temari, as she hugged me.

"I'm going to miss you guys too, but I'll get to see you again in two months, right? So I'll train hard so I can make you all really proud at the chunin exams!" I said; and I meant it.

With that, Kakashi started to lead the way to Konoha.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

AN: Kishimoto owns all except my characters-Kiminari, and Kimiko, and later characters. Also I'm probably not going to follow any of the story line except a few small things. I may take the characters outside their natural personalities, but that's because it's my story, and it'll add to it.

Kakashi's P.O.V.

We were on the final step of our journey to Konoha. I had been teaching Kimiko a few things while we were on the move, which in return sped up our progress. She had the most stamina I'd seen from anyone her age-or anyone under jonin level, infact. She seemed quite easily adaptable, and had a bit of a vicious side when fighting; I suspect she'll have a temper too once she gets to know me more…Uzumakis.

Flashback

"Kimiko, have you tried jumping from limb to limb yet?" I asked.

"No, sensei." She replied, "But I'd like to try."

Her face told me just how excited she was to get back to training, so we stopped to have lunch, and to see how well she could do. Surprisingly, it was quite easy for her. Since she was so small, she had more room on each branch to land. Her only problem was jumping far enough, so I had still had to go a little slower. However, after a couple of minutes, she paused. I turned to see her looking at her surroundings intently.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I think I've got it figured out, but it might take more chakra." She said. If she had to rest a bit longer tonight, that's Ok, as long as it gets us there sooner. I nodded, signaling her to continue. "If I can't jump to the next branch, all I have to do is go around a little, instead of going straight ahead." Well, I knew that, I just never had to do it; besides it took longer.

I was about to leave, when she took off her backpack, and started to rummage through it. "What are you doing now?" I asked her.

"Finding more weights, that way I'll be faster tomorrow, and if anything goes wrong I can just ditch 'em and get out of here." She said with a grin. _HMM, really smart move._

Before she jumped to the next branch, I saw her take a quick glance around ahead of us to see where the branches were. _HMM, she plans before she moves. I'll have to see if she can change her plans quickly enough later. _I thought. Then she started to jump to the next limb. I allowed her to get a little ahead of me so that I could watch her technique. Each jump was fluid, and smooth; unlike the jumps I was used to seeing from early beginners.

Kimiko's P.O.V.

After a few hours of jumping through the tree tops behind me, Kakashi moved so that he was in the lead. A few jumps later, he quickly changed his course, jumping to the left. I almost missed where he turned, but caught sight of him a moment later. _We must have to change direction to get around something. _I thought to myself. Then he turned to the right; then to the left again. _He's toying with me. Probably just some weird test to see if I can keep up with his movements._ I guess I was right, because he kept switching directions on me. After his first few moves, I thought of a plan: Instead of turning where he turns, turn at the same time he does. I can still see through the trees, so doing so shouldn't slow me down; in fact, I'll be able to react faster.

I followed this strategy for about fifteen minutes. Then he just disappeared; he seemed to have jumped down, for I could not see him when I looked up-as I did, however, I realized we'd gotten way off track. He did that on purpose. Well sensei, you asked for it. So I turned back to our original course and ran through the trees until I found him running at an average pace. I'd always beat Kankuro, and Gaara at chess; they said it helped them practice their strategy-even if they lost. So I put my ability into use. I knew he could probably sense my chakra-since Temari told me ninja could do that- so I paused and took out my map. I had a hard time at first trying to read it, because I'd never read one before. After a moment or two, I determined which way Konoha was, and found the shortest, straightest way to the village. This was going to be an interesting game.

After another thirty minutes of running, I finally saw Kakashi again, although this time, I had passed him up. He was back in the tree tops, so I tried to cut him off by breaking off the occasional branch, and hurtling it, like a kunai, toward him. However, he was too fast, and dodged them all. The third branch finally hit him, but he just poofed away. _Must have been one of those shadow clone things Gaara talked about,_ I thought. Then another thought: _He must be ahead of me if he's not behind me. I need to be extra careful and watch out._

Sure enough, a few seconds later, a larger branch was thrown at me, but I didn't see from where. It nearly hit me, but I used it as a step up to the branch above. I saw where the second branch came from- above and to the right a little- and since it was small enough for me to hold, I caught it as it came toward me. I took this opportunity to fake a fall and jump to the branch behind and beneath me. As I did so, Kakashi stopped and turned around, doing exactly what I wanted him to. I had learned a little from Temari about fighting with a fan, so I thought, how different was a fan from a sword-and this limb was the perfect substitute for a sword.

As he called my name and jumped to the branch I had fallen from, I launched myself from sitting position I'd been in and swung it at him as hard as I could. It had the exact affect intended; I missed him, but just barely. I continued slashing at him as hard, and as fast as I could, and since he was still a little shocked from my trick, I succeeded in pushing him higher into the trees. Eventually, as I had guessed, the limbs on the trees began to get thinner, and, finally, one snapped. He only fell about fourteen feet before he caught himself on a branch, but I had already jumped from my perch. He jumped to the side to try to avoid the blow and as I neared the branch that had originally held my target, but I kicked out as hard as I could at the tree truck next to me and shot out, directly at Kakashi. He hadn't been expecting me to react as quickly, I assume, because he didn't move out of the way fast enough this time. As I neared him, I tucked my legs in front of my body, so I could easily kick him down. When my feet finally made impact, I sent just enough chakra to them to hold him down, and then placed my left hand below his neck and the 'sword' I still held backwards in my hand, just above it.

AN: Don't forget about the drawing entries! If you would like, I'm starting a competition. Just send me a link in the reviews, or on private messaging of a drawing, sketch, or painting of your favorite characters from my stories. You may include characters that are from the actual universe, but all entries must include at least one of the stories OCs. I'll start the first drawing on March 1, but if you're just reading, don't worry. I plan to continue this for a while


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

AN: Kishimoto owns all except my characters-Kiminari, and Kimiko, and later characters. Also I'm probably not going to follow any of the story line except a few small things. I may take the characters outside their natural personalities, but that's because it's my story, and it'll add to it. Another thing: since I'm not following the story line of the series- All main (good) characters will start out the same age as they should be, but even though the Akatsuki will be around, the war will not happen until later; if it does at all. Again this is because I'm making up my own story line; it gets kinda boring when nothing has changed and you readers would be able to guess what was going to happen all the time. So, enjoy, and please comment, review, rate, whatever you wanna do. :D

Flashback continued

When my feet finally made impact, I sent just enough chakra to them to hold him down, and then placed my left hand at his neck and the 'sword' I still held backwards in my hand, just above it.

Kakashi's P.O.V.

I'd never seen a child fight like that; especially one who had very little training. It scared me a little. What scared me more, though, was how her attitude changed from confused to serious and violent, that quick. She had reacted so fast to the changes I caused, that she'd actually managed to take me down; and had I been a real opponent, and she with a real weapon, I wouldn't have doubted that she would have killed, or at least seriously injured me.

"Congratulations, Kimiko." I said. "You've passed your first test." She looked at me kind of odd, but didn't move an inch. _Just as I expected, she's smart enough to think of those words as a test to see if she'll let her prisoner go. Brava._ "And you've passed the second one as well." I said easily pushing her off of me and standing up. "You have very quick reflexes, and can change your plans while still making them. You did not accept victory when I'd told you that you'd achieved it. This means, that even if you do recognize your own skills, you also recognize those of your opponents. These are very good traits for a successful kunoichi." I finished with a smile.

Kimiko's P.O.V.

"Congratulations, Kimiko." Kakashi said. "You've passed your first test." I was a little confused, but I was also a little scared of letting him up; he might just be playing a trick on me again. "And you've passed the second one as well." He continued, pushing me off of himself with such ease, it scared me a little to think of what he could have done if he'd wanted to. "You have very quick reflexes, and can change your plans while still making them. You did not accept victory when I'd told you that you'd achieved it. This means, that even if you do recognize your own skills, you also recognize those of your opponents. These are very good traits for a successful kunoichi." I was a little shocked, I hadn't thought I'd done that good-darnit, I could have moved quicker had I taken off my weights. Then he smiled through his mask, and I knew he really meant it.

We continued on our way to Konoha and didn't stop until about an hour before nightfall. We settled in a small clearing that seemed easy enough to miss, and easy enough to defend, should we need to. After a quick dinner, Kakashi taught me some new stances, and even helped me practice my taijustu hand-to-hand for an hour or so. As it was getting dark, I realized that I hadn't done any target practicing yet. It was almost dark, but I asked Kakashi for some weapons anyway-I'd had to leave the old set back in suna.

"Are you sure, Kukmiko? It's gotten pretty dark; what if you lose one?" He asked

I giggled a little. "I won't lose one. I promise. Even if I miss, which I doubt, I can still find it. I've always been able to see pretty well in the dark."

He consented, and I got to work. After about my tenth time, it was nearly pitch black. We hadn't started a fire, because there was no need to, and the moon had just begun to appear. Kakashi asked if he could practice some, so I returned his weapons.

"I don't believe I've practiced throwing these in the dark for a long time." He said holding up some kunai. He threw all of them, and each one, in turn, hit its mark. However, the last one missed completely. _Oh, come on; you can't be serious. He just had to go and lose one so I'd have to find it. Kakashi and his stupid tests. I'll just prove to him that I _can _see in the dark that good._ I sighed and said, "I'll get it." He made a kind of guilty face and said thanks.

I walked into the woods a few meters and retrieved the kunai; at least he hadn't thrown it that far. _Jerk. _I was wary as I re-entered the clearing; I still wasn't sure if he was through with his little 'tests' yet. Luckily, he'd already settled into his sleeping bag for the night.

I returned his kunai to its pouch, then made my way over to my sleeping bag. When I settled myself, Kakashi looked at me a little weird and asked, "Are you going to sleep sitting up like that?"

"Yes." I replied. "I can't stand being in a position where anyone or anything could just come up from behind me." I stated simply, snuggling into the tree behind me.

"Hm. suite yourself." He said turning his back to me, making me a little mad and a little flattered at the same time. _Is he doing that to say he trusts me, or that he trusts himself to be better than me? _I wondered to myself. "Oh, and you did very well today, Kimiko. You seem to have high stamina, and a strong will. I think you'll do just fine at becoming a very powerful kunoichi". _Hm, well at least he's not being rude._ I thought as I started to doze.

The next morning, although I was still asleep, I got a strange feeling, like something was really close to me. As I gained consciousness, I held perfectly still; I remembered yesterday's events, and figured that it was Kakashi playing some trick, so I launched myself out at whatever was in front of me, pinning it to the ground. Kakashi's face-or what was showing of it anyway-held a look of surprise.

"You alright Kimiko?" He asked me.

"I thought you were just trying to test me again." I said standing up so that he could as well.

"Well, I hadn't even woken you up yet; and no I wasn't trying to test you this time." He said with his masky grin.

"Sorry." I said. "I didn't know for sure it was even you. I just kinda felt something and woke up."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

AN: Kishimoto owns all except my characters-Kiminari, and Kimiko, and later characters. Also I'm probably not going to follow any of the story line except a few small things. I may take the characters outside their natural personalities, but that's because it's my story, and it'll add to it. Another thing: since I'm not following the story line of the series- All main (good) characters will start out the same age as they should be, but even though the Akatsuki will be around, the war will not happen until later; if it does at all. Again this is because I'm making up my own story line; it gets kinda boring when nothing has changed and you readers would be able to guess what was going to happen all the time. So, enjoy, and please comment, review, rate, whatever you wanna do. :D

"You alright Kimiko?" He asked me.

"I thought you were just trying to test me again." I said standing up so that he could as well.

"Well, I hadn't even woken you up yet; and no I wasn't trying to test you this time." He said with his masky grin.

"Sorry." I said. "I didn't know for sure it was even you. I just kinda felt something and woke up."

"Hm." He tapped his chin for a moment. "Kimiko, I think later today I'll work on teaching you to use your chakra to sense things. Does that sound good?"

"Oh, yeah!" I replied.

End of flashback

Kimiko's P.O.V.

After several hours of trying to run through the trees and on the ground, with the occasional limb or rock thrown at me to see if I could dodge it efficiently, I was tired, irritated, and had several bruises forming. Oh, sorry, did I forget to mention that Kakashi had blindfolded me about four hours after we left camp this morning.

For the first hour, he had me try to find him when he hid while we ran. Then the next hour, he had me walk, run, and jump through the trees backwards. Needless to say, he had to help a lot with the later. When I had finally managed to do all of that and meet his standard of 'acceptable', he pulled out a long bit of cloth and tied it around my head.

For an hour or so, he simply led me by the hand as though I were blind, however, he would purposely lead me over rocks. After tripping several times, he explained to me how to 'send' my chakra out to sense the things around me. Man, this was a lot easier when I could guess what was around me by looking at the rest of my surroundings. I thought to myself.

When I was finally able to walk without tripping over things, he let go of my hand, and then had his fun. The first thing he threw was just a small pebble, but, man, did it hurt; I knew it would leave a good sized mark where it had hit my outer calf muscle. The next few things weren't thrown as hard, but they still hurt.

After a while stopped for lunch, but instead of just making me find my sandwich, Kakashi kept moving around me with it so I'd have to find and tag him first. It was almost ten minutes before I finally tagged him and he let me eat-with the blindfold unfortunately. Although these exercises were harsh and extensive, they did bring about the desired effect. Around six, I got a feeling that we were getting near something really big.

"Kakashi sensei?" I called.

"Yes?"

"Is that Konoha?" I asked pointing in the direction it seemed to be.

"Well it will be in about forty-five minutes, unless you feel like running." He replied

"Forty-five minutes? How far away are we and how big is this place?"

"We're only about three miles out. Good work, by the way; the distance you can sense things improves by the hour. And as for how big it is, well, I'd say it's about the size of Suna." Pause. "So, are we walking, or are we going to run? Because if you think you can run, we can make it there in about twenty-five to thirty minutes."

"It doesn't sound like I have much of a choice." I replied. So we ran.

As we approached the gates of what I assumed to be Konoha, I heard a man greet Kakashi. When the guy asked why I was blind folded, Kakashi said it was because I was blind.

"Hey! That's only partially true!" I yelled

"Partially?" asked the guy.

"Yeah, partially." I said. "I can see just fine, he's just trying to teach me how to sense the things around me." I said looking in Kakashi's general direction and giving him what would have been a death glare had he been able to see my eyes.

"Gee Kakashi." Said the guard. "How old is she? Don't you think you're being a little hard on her?" He asked.

"Hey, you!" I said looking to were the guard should have been standing. "'She' is standing right here, and even when a person is blind folded, they can still hear. If you've got a question about me, then ask me, not him; he doesn't even know me that well." I heard Kakashi sigh, but continued my ranting anyway. "Oh, and in case you haven't noticed I'm kinda filthy; and I'd really like a bath." I could sense Kakashi coming after me-I suppose to shut me up-so I quickly side stepped. I did this a couple more times until Kakashi got fed up with my ranting. He created a few shadow clones which, along with his real self, surrounded me. _Dang it, this stupid jonin. _I thought. Once he had me trapped, what I assumed to be his original self, picked me up and put a hand over my mouth.

"Good luck, Kakashi! See ya later." I heard the guard say as we entered the gates to Konoha.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

AN: Hey, guys, something really important: I would like to apologize for completely misspelling Kimiko as Kumiko, this whole time. My bad. It should all be changed by now, but please tell me if it isn't. :D

An: More importantly: Kishimoto owns all except my characters-Kiminari, and Kimiko, and later characters. Also I'm probably not going to follow any of the story line except a few small things. I may take the characters outside their natural personalities, but that's because it's my story, and it'll add to it. Another thing: since I'm not following the story line of the series- All main (good) characters will start out the same age as they should be, but even though the Akatsuki will be around, the war will not happen until later; if it does at all. Again this is because I'm making up my own story line; it gets kinda boring when nothing has changed and, you readers would be able to guess what was going to happen all the time. So, enjoy, and please comment, review, rate, whatever you wanna do. :D

Kakashi's P.O.V.

As I walked through the village carrying Kimiko, I began to wonder how long she was going to keep up this fight; she was going to hurt herself if she kept trying to get away from me. I had been walking for about fifteen minutes when we reached the hokage's building. I stopped for a moment and turned my attention to Kimiko. "You know, you really should get a better attitude before you see the Hokage."

"Hm."

"What's the problem anyway?" I asked her.

"Nothing, I'm just tired and want a bath." She replied, but I could tell by the way she said it, she was lying.

"You miss Suna, don't you?" I said.

"No." I was quiet for a few moments. "Yes." She finally said.

"You know, it's OK to miss something, just don't let it get in your way." I said trying to comfort her a little. That stubborn attitude reminded me of Naruto.

After a few more moments, she nodded, and said, "Fine, let's go see this Hokage person." I laughed a little at her persistence at trying to keep up the whole tough act.

Kimiko's P.O.V.

When I finally consented to behave better, Kakashi put me down. Then we made our way into the big building the Hokage was supposed to be in. He seemed to feel confident that I'd had enough practice today to walk up the stairs without his help, because he neither removed the blind fold, nor made an attempt to help.

A little later, I heard him knock on a door. "Come in." was the reply we got from a lady. He opened the door, and we walked in. "Well, Kakashi, it's nice to see that your back. Who's the girl?"

I inwardly seethed. _This is exactly what I was afraid of. People here aren't going to like me either._ "This is Kimiko." He said for me since I didn't answer-I didn't trust myself to talk at the moment. He continued, "I've brought her back from Suna to train her. We did some blood work, and think she has two kekei genkei. We know that at least one is related to her eyes, but the other is very closely tied."

"Which kekei genkei do you think it is?" She questioned. I was really confused; I still hadn't learned much about these kekei genkei things they were talking about.

"Don't you think we should talk about that in private later?" He asked. "You could come by the house and I could show you the blood-work results." I sensed a slight movement, which I assumed was her nodding, because it came from pretty high up. _Hm, if I keep improving like this, I could use this to my advantage. Maybe I could even figure out what they're talking about-if I can spy on them without getting caught. _After that, we headed out.

We stopped for a moment to pick up some groceries and some fresh dango. We'd stopped to get the dango when I'd smelled them. "What's that smell?" I asked Kakashi.

"Oh, that's dango." He replied.

"What's dango?" I asked. I'd never heard of it before.

"Would you like to try one?" He asked me.

"Yes, please." I said really sweetly.

I waited patiently while he bought the dango. When I felt him turn and start to hand it to me, I reached out and took it. I felt out for a moment trying to determine how to eat it. Finally 'seeing' the dango, I took a bite of the top piece. I'd never had anything so good in my entire life-well except for inarizushi (there was just something about rice and deep fried things that I loved).I heard Kakashi chuckle a little as I continued to down the dango. I didn't care if I'd he thought I was weird; this stuff was just too good.

As I ate we walked, and eventually came to a large building which Kakashi had said his apartment was in. He walked ahead of me leading the way and went down the right hallway on the third floor, finally turning into the sixth room on the left side. From what I could tell, there was a living room, a kitchen, one small bedroom and a smaller bathroom.

"I'll get dinner started if you want to settle in. I'll get some blankets and a mat down later so I'll have somewhere to sleep." He said walking into the kitchen. _I guess I get the bed. _I thought, feeling a little bad that he'd have to sleep on the floor until I was old enough to get my own apartment.

I dropped my things off on the bed, then made my way back to the kitchen. "Do you mind if I make something extra for tonight?" I asked.

"Sure, if you can do it blind folded." He said a bit sarcastically. Luckily, though, I'd always told myself I could make this dish blind folded. So I nodded walking to the cupboard.

"Um, could you give me the rice, tofu, and oil, if you have any?" I asked realizing that even if I could find everything, I'd never be able to reach it.

When I heard him set the ingredients if front of me, I pulled out a pot from the lower cabinet, and set to work steaming the rice, heating the oil, and preparing the tofu. When that was all done, I carefully made small bite-sized pouches and stuffed them full of rice. When each was full, and pinched closed, then dipped them into to now hot oil, being very careful not to burn myself-I had done so the first time Mira-the lady who ran the orphanage-had taught me to cook.

When I was finished, Kakashi was nearly done steaming some vegetables. I sat my dish on the table at the edge of the kitchen, and said, "Voila."

"Hm, nicely done." Kakashi praised. "I think this Inarizushi looks better than the stuff they sell in the market."

"And there probably better too. I used to make them for the kids and myself when I got back to the orphanage from school." He walked over, picked one up, and took a bite.

"Hm. Maybe _you_ should teach _me_ how to cook a little better, since I'm training you." He said jokingly.

"Deal." I said taking his hand and giving it a shake.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

AN: Kishimoto owns all except my characters-Kiminari, and Kimiko, and later characters. Also I'm probably not going to follow any of the story line except a few small things. I may take the characters outside their natural personalities, but that's because it's my story, and it'll add to it. Another thing: since I'm not following the story line of the series- All main (good) characters will start out the same age as they should be, but even though the Akatsuki will be around, the war will not happen until later; if it does at all. Again this is because I'm making up my own story line; it gets kinda boring when nothing has changed and, you readers would be able to guess what was going to happen all the time. So, enjoy, and please comment, review, rate, whatever you wanna do. :D

"Hm. Maybe you should teach me how to cook a little better, since I'm training you." He said jokingly.

"Deal." I said taking his hand and giving it a shake.

Kakashi's P.O.V.

About an hour after Kimiko had gone to bed, I heard a soft knock on the door. I opened it to see and already tired looking Tsunade. "Good afternoon, Lady Hokage-sama." I greeted with a smile.

"Good afternoon, Kakashi." She replied.

"You aren't hungry, are you? We still have some steamed vegetables, and Kimiko made the best Inarizushi I've ever had." I said as I led her to the kitchen to sit down to talk.

"Hm, a couple pieces of that does sound pretty good right now." She answered with a small smile. "Has she gone to bed."

"Yes, about two hours ago." I sat the Inarizushi on the table.

Her eyes widened a little after she took a bite. "Wow, this is good. I'll have to see if she'll give me her secret." A small chuckle. "So, let me see the paper work." She said holding out a hand.

I retrieved them off the counter and handed them to her. "Like I said, we can't be sure which Kekei genkei she has unless we can compare the blood works to someone we have access to. We can start with the Hyuuga's, though it's highly unlikely that she'd have the Byakugan. I think the only real possibility is Rinnegan, though I doubt she'll ever learn to use it."

"Well, I want to try to figure it out first, then we can decide whether to tell her or not. That all depends on what I get from the results, _and her attitude_; we don't want another kid with issues." I let out a small bitter laugh; she'd been referring to Sasuke, no doubt. "I'd also like to find out more about her family if I can." She finished.

After a small pause, "So, how is she doing so far; and why on earth did you have her blind folded earlier?"

I chuckled, "It was only a small exercise so that she could learn to sense things around her. Believe it or not, she even made the Inarizushi blind folded too."

"Hm, well then she's a quick learner. What else?"

"Well, she's got remarkable aim, -good enough to hit a target in the dark- very high stamina, she figures out ways to get around her weaknesses and to improve them and even use them to her advantage. She's also quite stubborn, which proves she's at least part Uzumaki -her mother's name was Kiminari, by the way. She's also very quick to change her battle tactics, not to mention, she's a vicious fighter; she even managed to get me down. All in all, as long as she doesn't get too arrogant, power thirsty, or go crazy, we've got a wonderful upcoming kunoichi." I finished with a smile. I only hoped Tsunade would let her advance as she could.

"Hm, well I will come to watch her train tomorrow, and we'll see if she's ready to attend the academy, or if she can go ahead and take the genin exam. Tonight, however, I'd like to get home and get started trying to decipher her charts. Tell her when she wakes up that I quite enjoyed the Inarizushi." She said with a smile as she stood to leave.

_Oh, boy. I hope she'll be ok tomorrow. I don't want her to overdo it just because someone important is around._

Tsunade's P.O.V.

When I got home I pulled out my computer and started to pull up the charts of several Hyuugas who had married outside of the clan. It was short work since there were only nine in total-and only five who had children or were old enough to be a grandparent. Once I'd found the children of those, I narrowed my search to the ones who had inherited the Byakugan. Then I narrowed it again to those who had children. There was only one, the only problem, was the child was a boy.

"Great." I said aloud to myself. "If she's not got the Byakugan, then she probable does have the Rinnegan. Let's just hope that doesn't become a problem." There hadn't been a Rinnegan wielder that we'd known of since Nagato.

My next search was of all the Uzumaki charts we still had; there weren't many of those either. Kakashi had said that her mother's name was Kiminari, so I searched to see if we had anything on her. When I finally found someone by that name, I was relieved to see that she had married a simple villager. But that meant that she'd inherited her kekei genkeis from her mother's side. It didn't make any sense, though, because other than the natural characteristics of the Uzumaki, there was nothing out of the ordinary about Kiminari.

I went to bed that night stumped. There were only two explanations as to why Kimiko was different: one-that she inherited a recessive gene from her mother's side, or two-that her father was not the man her mother had put on her birth certificate. I could believe it either way. There were several cases where a child would not inherit a kekei genkei from their parent, but then that child's child or children would. I could also believe her mother changing her father's name. This happened a lot in villages that were attacked; although the mother could not lie about her name, she could still protect her child by changing the father's name, so that if he was a sought after shinobi, their child would not be in as much danger of becoming a hostage.

I decided that I'd wait to see how she trained and see what physical and mental traits, as well as talents, she had inherited.

AN: Don't forget about the drawing entries! If you would like, I'm starting a competition. Just send me a link in the reviews, or on private messaging of a drawing, sketch, or painting of your favorite characters from my stories. You may include characters that are from the actual universe, but all entries must include at least one of the stories OCs. I'll start the first drawing on March 1, but if you're just reading, don't worry. I plan to continue this for a while


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

AN: Kishimoto owns all except my characters-Kiminari, and Kimiko, and later characters. Also I'm probably not going to follow any of the story line except a few small things. I may take the characters outside their natural personalities, but that's because it's my story, and it'll add to it. Another thing: since I'm not following the story line of the series- All main (good) characters will start out the same age as they should be, but even though the Akatsuki will be around, the war will not happen until later; if it does at all. Again this is because I'm making up my own story line; it gets kinda boring when nothing has changed and, you readers would be able to guess what was going to happen all the time. So, enjoy, and please comment, review, rate, whatever you wanna do. :D

Kimiko's P.O.V.

I was really excited. Today, when Kakashi woke me up, he told me that Lady Tsunade was going to watch me train some today. "This training session," He said, "will determine whether you go to the academy, or not. If you do well enough, you'll fill out a paper to become a full citizen of Konohagakure, then you'll be given a headband. Then we'll train some more, and you'll take a test to become a chunin."

"Yes!" I screamed once, jumping in the air with a fist pump. "I promise I'll do good Kakashi sensei. I'll do so well, she won't know what to think." He laughed.

"Now, be sure not to overdo it. You'll have to save your strength, because, when she's done watching, she's going to teach you some things too." He told me.

"Even better." I said, still grinning.

Later, at the training grounds with Tsunade:

I took the stance to aim my kunai, then threw them, three at a time-I'd worked on that this morning-at the target. I was a little disappointed, they were all side-by-side, but not all in the middle. _Well, I guess it's because they wouldn't all fit._ When I'd retrieved them I did the same with my suriken, then threw the senbon at a soft target that was set up in the training area.

By the time I'd finished going through a simulated fight with Kakashi, and had demonstrated my chakra control, a small group of five or six people had begun to watch. I was getting a little irritated that they were there. I think Kakashi noticed this, because he asked, "Kimiko, would you like to go through some things with the blind fold again?"

I nodded. "Yeah, these guys are getting really annoying." I whispered to him as he helped me put on the blind fold. Then I thought, _Hm, if they want to see what all I can do, then I'll just show them._

We started all of the exercises again. When we got to the simulated fight, however, Kakashi decided to try another one of his tricks on me. After the first few rehearsed moves, he jumped back. When I finally sensed that he'd thrown four kunai at me, it was almost too late. I bent back into a backbend, and then flipped over when I knew the kunai had passed. _What's he trying to do, kill me?_ I wondered, but only for a moment, because in the next, he was behind me. _How does he move that fast?_ I thought as I ducked. I continued to block and dodge his attacks for a minute or so, then I felt his right fist moving toward my head. I blocked it easily-too easily. Less than a second later, I realized it was only a distraction. I continued to pretend that I was only focusing on that one arm, and as I sensed his left arm coming down with a much larger kunai, I gracefully stepped back. As his arm came in front of me, I grabbed it, and remembered, from my last glance of the area-and from sensing it-that there was a small tree a little to our left. I used this to my advantage twisting myself and Kakashi's left arm around behind his body, then planted my right foot on the backs of his knees to knock him down. Once he was at my height, I pushed my foot into his back trapping him, with my chakra, between myself and the tree.

My senses were still on high gear, so I felt Tsunade when she stood up and approached us. I turned my head slightly, trying to figure out what she was planning-I didn't know for sure if she'd try her own tricks next, or not. Then she said, "Kakashi Hatake, you've lost. Kimiko is the winner of this match."

Then she laughed, and I could hear the small group start laughing and cheering also. So, I carefully stood up and reached out my hand, in the way he taught me to do after a match, to help him up. He took it and once standing, patted me on the head and said "Well done Kimiko. You've shown the quickest progress I've ever seen. Keep it up. OK?" I nodded, taking of the blind fold.

"Well, Kimiko, I think I've seen enough of your training for the day. How about I teach you a little medical ninjutsu?" I nodded. "Our first patient is Kakashi." We both laughed.

She spent about an hour teaching me different things about medical ninjutsu, and letting me try my luck healing a small cut on Kakashi. It was a little harder than just controlling my chakra, but I finally managed. She said she'd help me again some other time, but she'd assign a girl named Sakura to teach me for a while.

When she decided we were nearly done for the day, she said. "Kimiko, I've decided that you won't have to attend the academy; that would just waste the time we could have training you. If you would like, you can take the genin entrance exam right now."

"What all do I have to know?" I asked.

"Well, I've already seen most of what you know and can do; all you have to do is create a solid shadow clone-that's the exam at the academy." I looked to Kakashi. I'd heard of shadow clones, but he hadn't taught me to make them yet.

"Um, Lady Hokage-sama? Could I actually have a moment teach it to her? I hadn't really gotten around to that yet; well, actually, I kinda forgot." He said rubbing the back of his head.

"Fine." She laughed. "It shouldn't take her too long." And it didn't. It took me only a few minutes to learn the hand signs and understand how, and on my second try I produced three very nice clones.

"Very good. You've passed." She said with a smile. "I hoped you'd pass, and from the way Kakashi talked about you, I figured you would; so I brought a headband. You can have this one, but if you want a different one, you'll have to buy your own."

I smiled as I looked at the old headband. It had a lot of dings, and scratches on it, but I didn't care. Those scratches meant someone strong had worn it and fought in it before me, and I was more than happy to have it. I tied it sideways to my waist since it was a really long one, and let the rest of it hang by my left hip. I felt like a real ninja already.

Tsunade's P.O.V.

I'd had a feeling that Kimiko was better than what Kakashi had said, and that she'd pass easily; I'd seen it in her attitude. Since she'd never known her parents, and her mother had not bequeathed her own headband to Kimiko, I decided to give her one of the older one's we'd kept from the first great war; and it made sense, because her mother had died from the small skirmishes that continued long after that same war. Another reason I'd given her the old headband was that I hoped it would give her a sense of dedication and duty for her new village, and to work to be as strong as its former owner. _Now that I think about it I didn't even check to see who the last owner was._ We knew it had been someone important to Hashirama, because it was found in an old shadow box in the family's old storage area. When I was younger, I had asked my grandmother, Mito Uzumaki to whom it had once belonged, she did not answer. _Perhaps it was hers once._ I thought, but decided to ask anyway.

"Kimiko? I'm sorry to ask this now, but could you tell me if that headband has a name carved onto the metal plate? It should be right near the fabric." She smiled and nodded, taking the headband off again.

I watched as she worked out the name, then she turned to me and smiling brightly, said a name I never thought I would hear:

"Madara Uchiha."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

AN: Kishimoto owns all except my characters-Kiminari, and Kimiko, and later characters. Also I'm probably not going to follow any of the story line except a few small things. I may take the characters outside their natural personalities, but that's because it's my story, and it'll add to it. Another thing: since I'm not following the story line of the series- All main (good) characters will start out the same age as they should be, but even though the Akatsuki will be around, the war will not happen until later; if it does at all. Again this is because I'm making up my own story line; it gets kinda boring when nothing has changed and, you readers would be able to guess what was going to happen all the time. So, enjoy, and please comment, review, rate, whatever you wanna do. :D

I watched as she sounded out the name, then she turned to me and smiling brightly, said a name I thought wouldn't hear:

"Madara Uchiha."

I nearly fainted. I can't let her have that, if anyone knew about it, they'd think she was related to the Uchiha clan, or worse, related to him. I looked at her bright happy face and decided not to take it unless she didn't want it.

"Kimiko, are you sure you want to keep that headband?" I asked as nicely as possible.

"Why wouldn't I?" she asked innocently.

"Because it belonged to a man who was in the war that killed your mother and many other wars before that, as well. He was a traitor that defected from Konoha." I finished.

She just smiled sweetly and said, "Well, if that was the case, then I guess I should give this headband a better image. I'll wear it to make up for all the bad things its last owner did."

From that moment I knew I could trust her wholly, but I was still curious as to her family origins, so when I returned to my home that afternoon, I pulled up the files again. I started by pulling up all kekei genkei users who were parents, or old enough to be parents. When I'd finally searched through all the eligible shinobi and found nothing, I decided that we'd just have to wait to see what happened; perhaps it would show itself eventually. But then a though crossed my mind: We could make a record of her physical and mental characteristics along with her genetics from the blood works and compare it all to others through the computer. We'd only recently updated the files so that we could search characteristics in detail enough for this, but I thought there was enough info to help us out.

Kimiko's P.O.V.

The weeks following my acceptance into Konoha, and Lady Tsunade giving me my headband, were the hardest weeks I'd ever experienced. All we did was train; everyday Kakashi would teach me some simple jutsu and after he felt that I knew them well enough, we'd move on to sparing. Today he was teaching me proper swordplay. We'd been sparing for about fifteen minutes, when Lady Tsunade showed up at the training grounds.

We stopped and greeted her. "Hello. Kakashi. Kimiko." She said nodding to the two of us in turn. "I'd like to ask you Kimiko, if it'd be alright if I observed your characteristics for a week or so." I didn't exactly know why she'd want to do this, but figured it wouldn't hurt.

"Sure, Lady Hokage-sama. I don't mind. What exactly do you mean by that though?" I inquired.

She stole a quick glance at Kakashi. "I'm going to try to figure out exactly who your parents were." I was shocked. Why does she care? What does she need to know that for? "I realize that you already know a bit about your mother, but would you like to know more?"

"Yes." I said excitedly. "Please." I added.

We talked about my mother for about thirty or forty minutes. She had been a very good kunoichi from Kokan no Mura-the village of replacement-which was a village formed by some of the survivors of the destruction of Uzushiogakure. She was from the Uzumaki clan and had been very strong. When she got around to talking about who my mother had said my father was she explained that there was no one named Masaru in the records of that village. When I asked what that meant, she told me that my mother had probably lied about my father's true identity to protect me. She said that he was probably sought after to be killed and added that this was the case of many powerful shinobi. _So my dad was probably a very powerful shinobi huh? Well, I guess I'll have to work extra hard then to make him and Mom proud_.

When all the talking was finished, I asked her how studying my characteristics would help. She said, "Well, we can definitely say that you got your mother's hair, and eyes; however, we don't have any clue who your father is, so by putting detailed data on your characteristics in the computers' charts, we can find the man with the closest similarities to you. Whenever we find a match or matches, we will compare your chakra readings to that person, then your physical appearances and finally your blood samples. Whoever that person is, if your blood works match, is your father."

"So, if they're someone you know, do I get to meet them?" I asked hopefully.

"Well, depending on who that man is, we shall see."

Tsunade's P.O.V.

I had been observing Kimiko for almost a week and a half-a little more than planned-and I finally had enough information to run the tests.

• Favorite foods: Inarizushi, Ramen(the only thing she prefers to Inarizushi), Dango, crab meat, semi-sweet foods

• Least favorite foods: Anything too spicey or too sweet, caviar(specifically roe)-dislikes with a passion), oysters, etc.

• Favorite pass-time: Training, cooking, studying, eating, dancing, swimming, taking care of her pets-two cats, and a young messenger eagle.

• Least favorite pass-time: Shopping, being idle.

Well, I think you can pretty much assume what the rest is like, physical descriptions and so on.

When I'd finally put all of her everything into the computer, I waited a bit impatiently for the results for men; there were seven.

I didn't exactly like what I saw. Of the seven only two were from the Uzumaki clan; the other five were Uchihas. At first I thought that it was due to her pass-time preferences and high chakra, or due to her food choices, but then I looked at the Uzumaki results. One was her grandfather and the other was her uncle- both files showed the men's relations to her mother.

That meant her father had been an Uchiha. I was more than a little worried now; I now not only had to explain to her that her father was from the Uchiha clan-Kakashi had told her the story of their demise- but I also had to explain that he was probably one of the victims of the massacre-many were hunted down in the following years and picked off, even the clan members who had left the village years before.

I slowly put in her chakra readings; one disappeared. The four that remained were all of the clan head family. As I looked at each profile-they were listed from youngest to oldest-I logically deleted the first two by age; when I clicked on them and saw Sasuke and Itatchi's files, I immediately removed them from the draw, since they couldn't be old enough. The third was Fugaku Uchiha's, and after a careful chakra comparison, I realized that his didn't fit either.

I held my breath as I clicked the last one. I only hoped that this man was the one we were looking for, otherwise we'd never be able to find the right one. 'click'

I nearly passed out. I mentally took back wishing that this man was Kimiko's father. The profile shown, was that of the last person I would have ever thought to consider. I allowed a grim chuckle to escape my lips. Although she had not inherited her mother's headband, she had, by some cruel luck, inherited her father's; and I'd been the one to give it to her.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

AN: Kishimoto owns all except my characters-Kiminari, and Kimiko, and later characters. Also I'm probably not going to follow any of the story line except a few small things. I may take the characters outside their natural personalities, but that's because it's my story, and it'll add to it. Another thing: since I'm not following the story line of the series- All main (good) characters will start out the same age as they should be, but even though the Akatsuki will be around, the war will not happen until later; if it does at all. Again this is because I'm making up my own story line; it gets kinda boring when nothing has changed and, you readers would be able to guess what was going to happen all the time. So, enjoy, and please comment, review, rate, whatever you wanna do. :D

I nearly passed out. I mentally took back wishing that this man was Kimiko's father. The profile shown, was that of the last person I would have ever thought to consider. I allowed a grim chuckle to escape my lips. Although she had not inherited her mother's headband, she'd by some cruel luck, inherited her father's; and I'd been the one to give it to her.

Kimiko's P.O.V.

It was now Wednesday- two days since we had last seen Lady Tsunade. Kakashi said she was probably still trying to figure something out, but I had a feeling something was wrong. The last week and a half she had spent every day observing different things about me; I would have thought by now, that she'd have enough to at least find a few matches.

We had paused our training for a quick lunch, when the annoying blonde guy, that Kakashi had introduced to me as Naruto, came running up to the training area. "Kakashi sensei!" He yelled when he was close enough to be heard. We watched as he slowed down and approached huffing a little. Then he said the words we'd been expecting all week: "Granny Tsunade wants to see you two in her office."

While we were on our way, Naruto asked me endless questions about my training, and if, when Kakashi said I could, he could teach me a really cool technique, and why I was so quite. I was about to get fed up with his non-stop blabbering- I mean, come on, if you want an answer you have to shut up for a second or two- when we finally came to the hokage's building. We walked up to Lady Tsunade's office, and surprisingly, Naruto followed us in.

When we stepped into her office, we noticed that all the jonin who were not on a mission, were in the room, as well as Sakura, one of Naruto's teammates. I waved with a little grin at Sakura, who returned the gesture; we'd really started to get along while she taught me, and she'd become somewhat like an older sister. I looked around to everyone else and saw how confused they were at being there; I was just as confused as to why they were there.

When we reached her desk, we bowed to Lady Tsunade, and in return, she gave a small bow back. "Kimiko, I've found out who your father is, but I don't think anyone here is going to like it." She spoke solemnly.

A few people exchanged looks. "Why not?" I asked. "What's wrong?"

She seemed to think for a moment, seemingly of how to put the answer as nicely as possible. Then, "Well, you didn't inherit your mother's headband, but by unfortunate chance, you've inherited your fathers." I was a little confused for a moment, then I remembered who's headband I'd been given. My body stiffened, and my face went blank; I was shocked. _But hadn't he died way before I was born. He would have been way older, even if he hadn't._ I was so confused, but it seemed that so was everyone else.

"Kimiko, could you show everyone here the name on that headband?" I nodded, too shocked and upset to say anything, and quickly took it off my waist and set it on her desk. When they saw it, most of them were shocked as well, and a few seemed a little angry; almost everyone looked to my face as though to compare it to something. "Do you still want to keep the headband, Kimiko?" Lady Tsunade asked.

I thought about it for a moment, while I found my voice, then said quietly, "Yes." There were a few quick intakes of breath, and a few whispers, but I didn't care. "Like I said when you gave it to me, Lady Hokage-sama, I'll do whatever it takes to make a better image of this headband, and if it's my father's, then I want to even more. Even with who he was, I would still like to think he'd be proud of me for working hard to achieve my own goals; and, Lady Hokage, I promise you, I will." I finished proudly. I wasn't ashamed of myself for being Madara's daughter, in fact, it gave me more of a reason to train hard, and become an excellent kunoichi; I had to prove that I was strong like my parents, but in a sense stronger, because I had to make all the right choices, since my father had not.

A man I'd never met before, with long white hair, walked up to me and stooped to my level. He looked me in the eyes and said, "You've inherited the Will of Fire in more ways than one. You follow your dreams, and work hard to accomplish them, OK. Don't let anything hold you back; but remember that you can't do everything on your own. Remember who your real friends are. Always do the right thing, no matter how bad it hurts. And…" with a small chuckle, "Please, make it a priority to bring a good name back to the Uchiha clan." I grinned, and nodded.

"I promise. And when I make a promise, I don't back out of it." I added, smiling in Naruto's direction as I quoted his daily saying; even if it had begun to get on my nerves.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

AN: Kishimoto owns all except my characters-Kiminari, and Kimiko, and later characters. Also I'm probably not going to follow any of the story line except a few small things. I may take the characters outside their natural personalities, but that's because it's my story, and it'll add to it. Another thing: since I'm not following the story line of the series- All main (good) characters will start out the same age as they should be, but even though the Akatsuki will be around, the war will not happen until later; if it does at all. Again this is because I'm making up my own story line; it gets kinda boring when nothing has changed and, you readers would be able to guess what was going to happen all the time. So, enjoy, and please comment, review, rate, whatever you wanna do. :D

"I promise. And when I make a promise, I don't back out of it." I added a wink in Naruto's direction as I quoted his daily saying; even if it had begun to get on my nerves.

Lady Tsunade nodded, then she excused us. However, before everyone left, Kakashi asked, "Why, can I ask, did you need half the jonin, part of my team, and Jaraiya", oh, so that was his name-. "here?" he asked pointing to each.

"As witnesses, so that no one thought you two were crazy." A small, apologetic smile. "Oh! I forgot to ask. Kimiko, would you like to see pictures of your parents?"

"Sure." I said with a smile. Gaara and Kakashi had said that I probably looked more like my mother.

I walked over to stand next to her by a computer. When I saw each of their pictures, I smiled. I had my mother's hair almost exactly; the only difference, was mine had way to many little whispies that I could never get to cooperate, especially in the front. I had her eyes as well. When I tried to compare our faces, though, she had and wider face, and a bit stronger chin, while I had ended up with a delicate chin, and a bit thinner face, like my faher. I had also inherited my father's skin. Mother had slightly tan skin that made her hair less bright; my hair looked like blood on sheets, compared to my skin.

After a few moments, Lady Tsunade pulled up my charts to compare them to my parents'. My pass-times had been a perfect half-and-half of theirs. My eating habits, more like my fathers. My temperament, so far, was about half of each as well. My stubbornness and slight arrogance-though, not too much for my own good- seemed to come from both as well. My talents leant more towards my father's, and finally, while I had a good deal of my mother's fighting techniques, I had more of my fathers; not to mention I apparently had his ferocity in a fight, no matter the circumstances.

"Well." Jaraiya laughed. "At least she seem so have gotten more of her mother's temperament, as long as her mother wasn't as short-tempered as Kushina, we'll be OK."

A few others laughed with him, but Kakashi said, "Well it's not quite as quick as Kushina's but it's a bit more explosive." He and I shared a small chuckle as we remembered the few instances in the past week, where we'd gotten into it over one thing or another. That stopped their laughing.

Lady Tsunade broke up our revere, saying, "Well, I think it's about time you get back to your training, Kimiko. You'll be taking a quick test Friday to see if you would pass the chunin exams, then, in another week or so, we'll see if you stand ready to take the jonin test." She said with a smile.

"I'm sorry, Lady-Hokage, but wasn't I supposed to go back to Suna to take the chunin exams?"

"That was the case, yes. But now that we know you are also a part of the Uchiha clan, Kakashi will be teaching you to use your kekei genkei. If you do not master that by the time the exams come, then you will participate in them. However, if you do, it would be a disadvantage to them; you're skill level at the moment, would still mean we'd have to put restrictions on what you could do when fighting the other children one-on-one."

"Oh." I said, a bit disappointed. "I promise I'll learn how to use my kekei genke before then, but I was just hoping to visit Suna again." I said sadly.

"Well, if that's all you wanted, then when you've become a jonin, we'll make sure your first mission takes you near Suna. Deal?"

"Deal."

And with that, Kakashi and I left to continue my training.

When teaching me about my kekei genkei, he told me that when activating the Sharingan for the first time, most Uchiha's had experienced some very strong emotion. He told me that he believed I had already learned to activate it when Aniki Had made me angry. After remembering the moment, I reluctantly agreed with him. It took me a little longer than he'd thought it would, but, by Friday evening, I was able to sustain a fully mature Sharingan for several hours, while continuing to exert myself. Kakashi had also taught me about the other forms, but had requested that I not try them. I understood why, so I didn't. Besides, he had told me that the chances of me meeting someone who outmatched me enough for me to need a higher level Sharingan, were slim.

Lady Tsunade had come by that morning to how I was doing, and after she watched me spar with Kakashi in an unplanned, serious match, she was content enough to let me be ranked as a chunin.

Flashback to earlier

We had been fighting for about ten minutes, when I pinned Kakashi and locked him into place beneath me-although he'd made me show Tsunade my use of the Sharingan, she'd requested that we fight completely equal; that meant no weapons, or anything. She stood up and said, simply, "You pass, Kimiko. You are free to be tested at the jonin level anytime within the next two weeks." I fist-pumped, while jumping into the air, and ran to hug and thank her. She laughed and said, "Good luck, Kimiko."

After that we went back to Kakashi's apartment had a good lunch, then Sakura came by and the two of us headed out to go shopping; I was beginning to need some new ninja clothes and the others I had at home were still too big, and although I'd received a new pair of ninja sandals upon arriving at Konoha, I had decided to get a different color to match whatever outfit I bought.

When we had returned from our shopping spree, I laid all five of my outfits out on the bed for Kakshi to see-it seemed like he wanted to fill in as a father figure of sorts, since I didn't know mine. He laughed when he saw them. "Well, they're nice, but all the pants are the same."

"Well, that's because all I'll ever have to do is pick a shirt. If each pair of pants was different I would have to make sure they matched the shirts." I laughed with him.

The first top was a brownish-red kimono-like top that I had chosen because it reminded me of Gaara's hair and Suna; _Man I really miss those guys._ The second was a loose fitting, cream kimono-like wrap that Sakura told me was similar to one she had seen on Kushina in an old photo of Academy graduates; I got it to remind me of my mother, since, in the only picture I had seen her, she was wearing a jonin vest. The third was just a plain navy Kimono that came to my thighs; it had collar that extended a little higher than usual, though only to mid-neck. Kakahsi had laughed at that one, saying that high collars had been favored by the Uchiha clan, although mine was more fitted. The fourth was a simple long sleeved black t-shirt for the colder months-even though they weren't that cold around here-and to go under the vest I was to be getting soon for becoming a chunin. The fifth, and final top, was my favorite. It was a long, deep blue, sleeveless kimono-like overlay that extended half way to my knees, with a small, crimson wrap to go around the top of my body; again the length of the overlay reminded me of my life in Suna, I suppose. To match all of this, I had bought five pair of loose, sweat-like pants, five net undershirts, a pair of black ninja sandals, and some fabric to wrap my shins.

As we looked at my new wardrobe, I mentally gave myself a pat on the back. I was pretty pleased with myself; normally when I went clothes shopping, I only got one or two things. As I was putting my new clothes away and packing up my mother's old clothes, Kakashi asked a question. "Which clan crest are you going to wear?"

"What do you mean?" I didn't understand.

"Well, you know who your parents are, and since they aren't around, you can choose which name and crest to bear."

I thought about it for a minute, then he seemed to remember something. "You know, you could always pick one name, but wear two crests." I looked up at him. "The chunin and jonin vests have the Uzumaki crest on them. When Uzushiongakure was still in existence, it had very close ties with Konoha due to the marriage of Hashirama Senju and Mito Uzumaki. So if you want to, you can wear your father's crest."

A small pause. "I should warn you, however, that the people of Konoha don't exactly trust the name Uchiha, since the only massacre survivor, Sasuke went rogue. I don't know how they'd react since no one's really known of another living Uchiha, aside from the one who killed them of course."

I thought for a moment more, then, "I'll just do the same with my family's crest that I've been doing with my father's headband. Since Sasuke doesn't seem to care about the clan's name, then I will. I'll make it a well-known, and respectable name again Kakashi sensei. I don't care if no one trusts me at first, because one day they will. I'll become a great kunoichi and protect this village, or die trying." I said proudly and with a big smile.

"Jaraiya was right about you, Kimiko; you do have the Will of Fire in more ways than one. I'll take them tomorrow to have the crest put on each one. Traditionally it's been placed on the back. I s that OK?"

"Yes, thank you. I'll figure out a way to put my hair up." I giggled. If I was going to wear a crest, then I was going to wear it right. "Oh, I almost forgot." He paused while I dug through my shopping bags to find what I was searching for. "I bought a necklace."

I held up the necklace to show to Kakashi. It was a simple spiraled circle, and I'd gotten it because-from what I'd seen in the picture- it looked like the one my mother had been wearing in the picture on her charts. "Well, Kimiko, you've once again, by some luck, run across something that will be of real meaning to you. _That_," He said pointing to the charm. "_is_ the Uzumaki crest.

I laughed a little with him again as I put the necklace on. This day had been full of surprises.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

AN: Kishimoto owns all except my characters-Kiminari, and Kimiko, and later characters. Also I'm probably not going to follow any of the story line except a few small things. I may take the characters outside their natural personalities, but that's because it's my story, and it'll add to it. Another thing: since I'm not following the story line of the series- All main (good) characters will start out the same age as they should be, but even though the Akatsuki will be around, the war will not happen until later; if it does at all. Again this is because I'm making up my own story line; it gets kinda boring when nothing has changed and, you readers would be able to guess what was going to happen all the time. So, enjoy, and please comment, review, rate, whatever you wanna do. :D

Time skip of seven years.

When I woke up this morning, I realized something horrible. It was my birthday again. For the past six years, starting with my seventh birthday, Sakura and her friend Ino, had been in charge of everything involving my birthday. At first, Sakura kind of scared me, so I didn't argue with her much over the matter, but by my tenth birthday, the only reason I hadn't made and attempt on her life over the matter, was due to Lady Tsunade's orders. "Please, Kimiko." She'd said. "Please just try to behave yourself this year. Sakura's only doing this because she and Ino see you as a younger sister. I know it gets irritating, they get on everyone's nerves over your birthday, but just try to appease them."

I'd unwillingly obeyed her request, if only to keep myself in good standings with her-ever since my promotion to jonin, nearly a month after I'd come to Konoha and then my promotion to anbu another month and a half later, she'd allowed me to pick my missions; most of which were to Suna. This year, however, I wasn't going to stand for it. On my twelfth birthday, last year, she made me wear the most hideous hot pink, sparkly, itchy kimono, I'd ever laid eyes on. This year I would be a teenager, and Tsunade was finally going to let me move into the renovated area of the old Uchiha compound, which they'd begun to rebuild and replicate in hopes that the clan would eventually be restarted; Kakashi, however had been way too fatherly lately. He had even said he would see if he could just get a bigger apartment, so I'd have my own room. I'd almost consented, but then I remembered the time that I'd hung out with Konohamaru and his team last year, and Kakashi had nearly had a breakdown because I was hanging out with kids six and seven years older than me; I didn't see his point, I mean, it wasn't like they could have done anything to hurt me, even if they had wanted to.

As I had maintained the exact same five outfits since I was six, –aside from getting them in a different size- I made my way to where I knew my blue kimono top was hanging. There was only one difference in my wardrobe. Tsunade had told me that when I turned thirteen, I did not have to wear my jonin vest anymore, because by now, everyone knew I was already a high ranking member of the anbu, and no one bothered to question me about it anymore. When I realized that I wouldn't be wearing the Uzumaki crest anymore, I'd taken my time one day to bring all my shirts to an alterations shop so that they could put my other family crest on top of the right shoulder of each.

When I'd found the shirt I was searching for, I took it off the hanger, then pulled a mesh shirt, and a pair of pants, and undies out of my drawer, then went to take a shower. Once that was finished, I put on my clothes and pulled my hair into its signature style: A bun with some hair fanning out on the top right and some shorter hair -down to my chin- framing my face. By the time I was done, Kakashi had woken up, so I went to the kitchen to prepare us each an omelet. Once we were finished, I told him my plans for the day, and headed out the door.

Today, _I_ picked out my birthday yukata, then I went grocery shopping. Once I'd returned with my spoils from the day I showed my new kimono to Kakashi. It was a simple deep forest green with gold sparkles clumped into shapes resembling trees, and more sparkles dusted over the rest of the fabric. When he'd seen it, I put it away then told him what I'd been meaning to tell him all day.

"I'm going down to visit the old clan head home; the workers have finished refurbishing it, and Lady Tsunade told me to decide whether or not I'm moving in. She said if I am I need to tell her so we I can have the old furniture replicated." She'd told me that since I had no way of getting money from family, she would help to rebuild the old homes exactly as they were.

"Well, I had hoped you'd stay here," He stated, sadly. "But if that's what you feel is right, then go for it. Do you want me to come with you?"

"No, thanks. There's something I've been wondering about though. What happens if Sasuke does return peacefully? Wasn't his father the last clan head?"

"Yes, but yours was too at one point, and although you are only half Uchiha, if your father were hear, he would take leadership, followed by you. However, given the circumstances, you will be the clan head, unless Sasuke returns; and if he does, he will probably wish to fight you for it, even if you were to offer it to him- it's a matter of pride. You see, that position was always given to the person with the most wisdom and power; it just turned out that that person has always been the eldest living child of the former head."

I nodded. "Well then, if he comes back, unless he's on extremely good terms with everyone, I guess I'll just have to whip his butt." I said with a small laugh.

"Hey, Kimiko." Kakashi said as I was about to leave. "Don't forget you have dance tonight at five."

"Thanks, I won't forget; I never do." I said as I left the apartment. I had started dancing at a small studio around the corner, when I had turned eight. It had become my favorite thing to do. I loved it so much; and I was pretty good too. It had even helped me with my stealth. Once, last year, on a mission, I was working with Shikamaru and walked right up to our target without being seen or heard. Once he was down, his friend came around the corner, having sensed something wrong. When he began to attack me, I simply dodged him until he left me an opening. When I had him pinned up against a nearby wall, Shikamaru had asked how I had dodged him so easily, and how I'd snuck up on the other man. I had answered, jokingly that I was a dancer; I told him how I had been taking dance for four years. After that, it had become a joke amongst my friends and myself, that I was not a ninja, but simply a dancer; I was their little fairy, running stealth missions that only with real magic could have gone any smoother.

I had been walking towards the Uchiha compound, and my train of thought broke as I passed the first few buildings. Many of them were still damaged or in ruins. It made me sad to see it like this, even though I had never seen it when the clan was still alive.

As I passed a group of workers who were rebuilding a small meeting house, I gave a small bow to show them how grateful I was that they had agreed to do this; many had refused the offer, even considering how much it paid. When I reached the clan head home, my breath caught in my throat; they had only recently fixed and cleaned it up enough for Lady Tsunade to allow me to visit it. I was nervous and excited both at the same time; I knew that many great shinobi had lived here, and that when I stepped foot into the old home of my father and his family, that I would be placing upon my own shoulders, the weight that all the past clan heads had held, and more.

After removing my shoes I took a deep breath, steadying myself and slid open the door.

AN: Don't forget about the drawing entries! If you would like, I'm starting a competition. Just send me a link in the reviews, or on private messaging of a drawing, sketch, or painting of your favorite characters from my stories. You may include characters that are from the actual universe, but all entries must include at least one of the stories OCs. I'll start the first drawing on March 1, but if you're just reading, don't worry. I plan to continue this for a while


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

AN: Kishimoto owns all except my characters-Kiminari, and Kimiko, and later characters. Also I'm probably not going to follow any of the story line except a few small things. I may take the characters outside their natural personalities, but that's because it's my story, and it'll add to it. Another thing: since I'm not following the story line of the series- All main (good) characters will start out the same age as they should be, but even though the Akatsuki will be around, the war will not happen until later; if it does at all. Again this is because I'm making up my own story line; it gets kinda boring when nothing has changed and, you readers would be able to guess what was going to happen all the time. So, enjoy, and please comment, review, rate, whatever you wanna do. :D

P.S. I don't like to go into detail to tell you things most of you already know, and if you don't already know them, then it's best I don't tell you.

I took a deep breath, steadying myself and slid open the door.

Someone's P.O.V.

I watched as a young girl in a blue kimono and black pants, walked down the road that went to through the Uchiha compound. She had brilliant, red hair, and blue eyes; she was quite small, but I could tell she had strength hidden behind her appearances. She bowed, slightly to a group of workers as she passed; whoever she is she must have something to do with everything being rebuilt. She made her way to the clan head home then stop just outside the sliding door. I saw her pause, as if contemplating something then slowly push the door open.

For the last twenty minutes or so, while I was waiting for the girl to come back out of the old house, I'd been thinking of what she was doing there anyway. She definitely didn't look like an Uchiha, and, besides Sasuke was the youngest left. When she finally reappeared, she looked as though she'd been crying. I watched as she softly pulled the door closed and sat to put her shoes back on. As she turned to leave, two things caught my eyes. The first was the Uzumaki crest upon her right shoulder, and the second was the Uchiha crest proudly displayed upon her back.

Once I had double-checked myself, I turned on the branch I'd been spying from, and began to make my way back to my hideout; there was someone who would definitely want to know about this.

Kimiko's P.O.V.

As I walked through the house, I saw many things that had been salvaged that told the history of my family. Down one hallway was a large mural depicting the formation of Konoha; it was absolutely beautiful. Down another, were several displays and replicas of swords and various other weapons that had belonged to members of the clan before the formation of Konoha. There was so much I could learn from just looking around, but I knew I'd have to leave soon.

On my way out, I saw a room I hadn't noticed coming in. I gently opened the door and peeked in to see several pictures of what I assumed to be very important people and their families. I walked in and looked at some. The first one that caught my eye was a painting of Sasuke's family; his father looked stoic, while his mother, brother, and he smiled gently at whoever the artist had been. The next painting was also of two brothers and their parents. All four people in this painting looked worn and tired, but at the same time happy to be together. I read the names of the people and saw that the younger's name was Izuna, and the older brother was Madara, my father. I gasped a little when I noticed that I'd definitely inherited his skin and face; also, although I had my mother's blue eyes, my eyes were rounder, like my fathers, but seemingly more similar to his brother's and mother's.

I looked to the picture beside it and saw a lone figure. This was also a painting of my father, but at an older age. It still baffled me that he was as old as he was when he met my mother; Lady Tsunade said it probably had some crazy jutsu behind it. I reached out and touched the blank face of the man in the picture. I only wish he hadn't gone against the clan and that he had stayed here; then maybe I would have had a father that was there for me and was proud of me.

I hadn't noticed the tears rolling down my face until then, but when I did, I knew it was time for me to leave. It was definitely going to take some getting used to, living here, but I still enjoyed it. I turned to leave; I was already going to be late to dance if I didn't hurry.

Later, while I walked back to the apartment, I tried to remind myself of a saying I'd read from a small book about my clans history. The book had mainly talked about how the Uchiha been perfectionists at everything, but whenever one seemed to have perfected everything, there was always a major flaw to go along with it: A jack of all trades is a master of none.

When Lady Tsunade had asked me if I would like to start dance, she'd said it would help my clumsiness, which, I seemed to have a lot of, even in training -unless I was standing still. She had talked about how, even when I had beat Kakashi, he had not used this weakness to his advantage; he had wanted me to win, though not easily. She had pointed out that clumsiness was normal in small children, but as I grew older and it did not improve much, she had begun to worry. Over the past few years, I had found that, although I was far from the best dancer, all clumsiness seemed to fade when I danced. When I applied the thought if dancing to my fighting, it improved majorly; Kakashi had begun to try tripping me or knocking me off balance, but could no longer succeed. Lady Tsunade had been quite right saying dance would help in that area, but I still held that clumsiness it everyday life; something my friends tended to make fun of me about.

When I arrived at the apartment, I decided not to take the stairs -again a tripping factor- so I simply jumped into the kitchen window, which had been opened-presumably to let out the smoke being created by whatever Kakashi was attempting to cook now. I jumped, and when my hands touched the sill, I kicked off the wall and brought my feet in to my hands and removing my shoes and stuffing them into my bag. Once I was perched in the window above the sink, I watched Kakashi carefully; he seemed to be trying to make senbei, which I loved, but was definitely failing.

I continued to watch as he took the pan out of the oven, and before he turned to place the blackened cookies on the counter, I stepped to the side of the sink and off the counter before placing my things quietly on a nearby chair. Once his back was turned to the rest of the kitchen, I got the ingredients back down and, as he fanned the smoke from the pan, I started the recipe over. By the time he went to dump the cookies in the trash, I had already mixed the left-over ingredients- steamed rice, oil, rice flour, and water- and begun to separate it into small bite sized balls.

When he finally turned around, he jumped a little. "Kimiko, when did you get in here?" he asked a little scared.

"Oh, just when I realized you were about to burn the house down." I said with a giggle. "I saw the smoke, so I decided to take a short-cut; I jumped in the window, just as you were about to take the senbei out."

"Ah, he said. You know, you really shouldn't do that to people."

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because," He said, "it's scary. If someone doesn't recognize you soon enough, they might attack you."

"Well, I'll just have to watch out then." I smirked.

He got back to work preparing something simpler-Yakisoba-while I finished the cookies. When dinner was finished, he went to the living room and patted the sofa seat next to him. I walked in and joined him.

"You know, Lady Tsunade has asked me to tell you more about your family. She says that with all the problems we've had with Sasuke in the past, _you_ should at least know all the truth; no one told him, and now he's all confused. We just don't want him to tell you something wrong." He said

"So, what all does she want me to know?" I asked and with that, he began explaining the truth behind the massacre, why it had happened, who had caused it, and many other things. When he'd finished, he started to tell me about how Konoha was formed, he paused, and told me that he'd tell me more about that tomorrow.

"Why? Will it take a long time?"

"No." He said. "And yes. It involves your father, so it will probably bring up a lot of side questions. I think I'll see if you, Lady Tsunade, and I can go on a little field trip tomorrow." He said with a smile. I smiled back; it had been about a month since I'd been anywhere new, or uncommon.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

AN: Kishimoto owns all except my characters-Kiminari, and Kimiko, and later characters. Also I'm probably not going to follow any of the story line except a few small things. I may take the characters outside their natural personalities, but that's because it's my story, and it'll add to it. Another thing: since I'm not following the story line of the series- All main (good) characters will start out the same age as they should be, but even though the Akatsuki will be around, the war will not happen until later; if it does at all. Again this is because I'm making up my own story line; it gets kinda boring when nothing has changed and, you readers would be able to guess what was going to happen all the time. So, enjoy, and please comment, review, rate, whatever you wanna do. :D

P.S. I don't like to go into detail to tell you things most of you already know, and if you don't already know them, then it's best I don't tell you.

The next day, Kakashi went to see Lady Tsunade, and around noon, the three of us left on our 'field trip'. As we walked, Kakashi and Tsunade took turns talking about my father; general appearance, talents, flaws, and so on, and whenever I had a question about something, they'd answer it as best as they could. They also talked about his friend Hashirama, and their history, and how they formed Konoha. Then they told me how my father and Hashirama had disagreed on some things, and how, they fought.

As they were telling the story of my father's believed defeat, we came upon a huge waterfall with two statues. Lady Tsunade paused in her speech and said, "This is what we brought you to see, Kimiko. This is where Hashirama defeated your father; or so we thought."

I looked up to see that one of the statues was in likeness of my father, Madara, and the other, in likeness of who I presumed to be Hashirama. I noticed that Hashirama's statue was in our territory, while Madara's was in the no-man's-land between the Land of Fire, and the Land of Sound.

We continued, climbing up the side that would lead us to the top of Hashirama's statue. As we went, she continued to tell about the battle, and that it had even caused the very valley we were in. When we reached the top, I looked out to see all the land beneath us, and saw -after a brief moment of height sickness- just how beautiful it all was.

When I noticed the silence, I asked something that had been on my mind for a really long time: "If Hashirama couldn't kill my father, then…?" I faded off, looking confused and a little scared, now that I knew exactly all he had done; even if it had been 'all for the clan', it worried me that we still didn't know what had happened to him.

Lady Tsunade shook her head. "We had _assumed_ he had, until we found out he was your father. Even when I had found that, I still didn't believe it; but now that I know you well, I believe it more, but still less. When you're a normal girl, I see only your mother, aside from your skin and face, but when I watch you fight -although, you still look a great deal like your mother, as strong and stubborn as she was- I see only your father. Occasionally I worry about what would happen if you ever decided to turn against the village, but then I remind myself of the girl I know you really are: an extremely powerful kunoichi with a wonderful knowledge, not of good and bad -that's all based on perspective-, but of right and wrong. Kakashi and I are very proud of that." As she finished, I could tell she meant it. I smiled at them then gave them each a big hug.

"I'm really glad you guys feel that way. When Kakashi told me about how people thought of my clan, I was scared that everyone would shun me, that's why I work so hard at letting people know that, even though my biological family are the Uchiha, the Leaf village itself is my family, and until it's the wrong thing, I'll fight with every ounce of my being for it." I said looking across the valley. "I don't care what my clan has done in the past, that has no control over what I do; I'll do whatever I want with my life; forget the stupid 'family curse'." I said making little quotes and a serious face. "I only wish things had been different, that way, I could have known my mother and father, and lived around people who all loved each other." I said as I looked across the water at the statue of my father. "But that's life, and you can't change it, so I'll just have to make the best out of what I have, and one of those things is Kakashi; as unfit as you are to be a father," I said laughing with him, "you've still done well."

After a few minutes of the three of us laughing and recalling funny moments over the past seven years, I asked if we could go across the lake. "Why?" Tsunade asked.

"I don't really know." But we walked across the water anyway. When we reached my father's statue, I jumped onto the shoulder, but didn't go any further. I simply sat down, legs hanging off the stone armor and called out to them from there -they hadn't seemed to want to even touch his statue. "Now I've can say I've sat on my father's shoulders, just like every other kid!" I laughed a little at the thought, then just sat and admired the view of the valley from this direction too.

After a minute or two in silence, I stood and walked farther up the shoulder to touch Madara's face. "Even though I know you've done really bad things that were also really wrong, I still want you to know I love you Father, and I always will." I leaned forward and placed a small peck on the cheek of the statue, the same as I would have if it would have been my real father. Then I turned around and saw Kakashi watching me with a thoughtful face and a smile, while Tsuande looked at me with a confused yet accepting look.

Once we were on our way back to the village, Kakashi asked, "What was that all about, back there?"

"Well, I doubt I'll ever get to meet him, especially on good terms, so I figured, I'd let the statue know how I really felt; you know, just to get the feeling out; like screaming into a pillow when your upset, except that was a happy/sad feeling, not an angry one." I tried to explain it to him.

"Was that the only reason you wanted to see it?" Lady Tsunade asked.

"Well, to tell the truth, I did have another reason." I said catching their attention. "While I was talking, I passed chakra mixed with my thoughts and feelings into the stone; I don't think it will do anything, but I guess I was hoping that if he ever passed by, he'd get to know how I felt, even though he won't know who the feelings are coming from -I made sure not to allow my personal self to be known."

"That's a fine theory, but a very advanced one. I'd be interested to see if it works." Said Tsunade, with a laugh.

"We'll have to test it sometime." I said laughing with her, while praying that it did work.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

AN: Kishimoto owns all except my characters-Kiminari, and Kimiko, and later characters. Also I'm probably not going to follow any of the story line except a few small things. I may take the characters outside their natural personalities, but that's because it's my story, and it'll add to it. Another thing: since I'm not following the story line of the series- All main (good) characters will start out the same age as they should be, but even though the Akatsuki will be around, the war will not happen until later; if it does at all. Again this is because I'm making up my own story line; it gets kinda boring when nothing has changed and, you readers would be able to guess what was going to happen all the time. So, enjoy, and please comment, review, rate, whatever you wanna do. :D

P.S. I don't like to go into detail to tell you things most of you already know, and if you don't already know them, then it's best I don't tell you.

PPS In mine-since I'll do what I like- Tobi(Obito) and Madara are both in control of the Akatsuki-lead by the later of the two. Also, Madara has already found a way to keep young, but not like that creeper Orochimaru-No little kids or young adults involved. XP

Someone's P.O.V.

I had been meditating near the waterfall at the Valley of End, when I sensed three ninja traveling towards me. I hid a good distance away, but some unknown force made me stay to see who they were, and what they were doing.

When they arrived, they climbed atop the statue of the first hokage. As they did so, I noticed that one was the fifth hokage, Lady Tsunade. I looked to the second ninja, a man, and realized, with a little pang of hatred and disgust, that it was Kakashi. When I looked at the third, a young girl, I realized it was the same girl I had seen at the Uchiha clan head's home when I'd visited Konoha yesterday.

I noted what she was wearing: a medium necked kimono that was open from the thighs down and extended to her knees. The kimono was navy with loose short sleeves that went to her elbow, and the whole thing was held closed with a deep red cloth that covered her torso; she also wore loose, black pants and ninja sandals with her legs wrapped from her ankles to mid shin.

They seemed to be teaching her about the history of this area, because every now and then, she would look at something in awe. After several minutes, they walked towards the statue of Madara uchiha. When they got to it, Tsunade and Kakashi stopped, but the girl climbed easily onto the shoulder. From here, I could see that her bright red hair was put up the same as it was yesterday-by now I could easily assume this style was the norm for her- and that this kimono also proudly displayed the Uchiha clan crest along with the smaller Uzumaki crest.

I saw her sit down on the shoulder guard of the statue, and turn her head as she called out to the others: "Now I've can say I've sat on my father's shoulders, just like every other kid!" I was a little shocked. Madara had no children; or none that I had heard of. After a few moments she stood up and walked in to the statues face. When I saw her mouth open, as though to say something, I used my chakra to enhance my hearing. As she reached out and touched the face, she spoke. "Even though I know you've done really bad things that were also really wrong, I still want you to know I love you father, and I always will." I was really shocked now; not only was this girl claiming to be the daughter of Madara Uchiha, she was also still willing to admit she loved him; she had never even met him.

What she did then shocked me the most, but at the same time really touched me: She leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on the cheek of the statue. I saw as she did so, that she sent chakra throughout the statue. _What was that about?_

When they left I remained hidden until I could no longer sense their chakra's, -which was a long time with hers- then I emerged from my hiding spot to stand where she had stood. As I did so, I could feel a small, but very powerful amount of chakra all around the statue. I reached out to feel it with my own, and noticed that it was full of emotions: shame and anger and sadness, but also joy and acceptance and love. I could even feel truthfulness and the idea that she really was his daughter, although when I searched for a feeling that might reveal who she was or even her general appearance, I could find none; smart girl.

When I had memorized all I could from the feelings and my own knowledge of her, I took off; I had already put off telling him for long enough, and though it had proved helpful to wait this time, I doubted I would see her again for a while.

When I arrived at our hideout, I went straight to my Madara's office. I knocked and when he said to enter, I did immediately.

"I have important news Madara-sama." I said bowing

He sensed the importance, so simply nodded, signaling me to continue.

"Are you a father?"

Madara's P.O.V.

_What?_ "That is a question, not a statement. You do know that you said you _have _information, right."

'Tobi' nodded. "When I was in Konoha, I was passing by the old Uchiha compound, and noticed that it is being rebuilt to look exactly as it did before the massacre. I stopped to observe, and saw a girl visiting the clan head's home. She bore the Uchiha crest, but she had bright red hair. On my way back, I passed through the Valley of End and paused to meditate, but they must have decided to teach her about the area, because they arrived about three hours after me. I hid myself, but decided to remain to see if any more information could be gathered." He paused for a moment contemplating, so I nodded for him to continue. "She went to your statue, and… Do you mind if you just see the rest for yourself?" I nodded, that was quicker, and usually more correctly detailed anyway.

After he allowed me to enter his mind through genjutsu, I reviewed all he had already told me and found it to be true. Then I saw the girl on my statue, and heard what she said. When she kissed the statue's cheek, I ended the genjutsu; I had never felt emotions like this before; I was at a loss for words. I thought for a while trying to remember who the girl reminded me of, then I remembered Kiminari Uzumaki. I had left for the same reason I should have stayed: a baby; but how could I have forgotten. I hadn't wanted a child to be brought into such a violent world, so we had decided that until the war was over, we would live separately, but about three weeks later, I had received a letter from her saying she was going to have a child. I would have returned, but I never found time to get away from the fighting.

After almost two years the fighting had gone down enough for me to leave my post. I visited Kokan no Mura, but found that she had been sent to another village to help. I visited her old village once or twice a year, but when she didn't return, I decided to just wait, like I'd said. When all the fighting was over, seven years and four months after we had parted, I finally visited the village again, only to find, that our child had been sent to live in another village for safety, and that she had died. When I'd asked about her child, they told me she had requested that it be kept classified, again for the child's safety; I couldn't even find out their birthday, their name, or whether I we'd had a boy or a girl.

When I left that village, I left nearly as sad as I had been when I had lost my brother, and my family; the only difference: this was worse. I'd lost my own child and had never even seen them; they were going to grow up never knowing what it was like to have a real family, and it was all my fault. At that point I had _truly_ failed my family.

Over the years, I learned to accept that I would likely never see this child, and I learned to believe that this was probably for the best anyway; I could not provide for a child, and after this many years being raised by a village that was most likely against me, I don't think the child would want me to care for them. I had forgotten the pain, but now, I was forced to face it again; but now I could live with it. I knew she had openly accepted who I was, and that she was still willing to forgive me for what she had been taught was wrong. I knew she _loved _me, and I knew that I loved her, and that was what touched me the most.

I remembered that Obito was still in the room, so I looked up to him, hiding any emotion that may have begun to show itself, and said, simply "Yes, I guess I do have a child; I guess I have a daughter."

After that, I dismissed him, and began planning our investigation as to exactly who she was, what she was like, and how to get her to join us. I'll admit, I did feel a little guilty plotting how to turn my only child against the people she loved, and who loved her, but I still wanted us to be a family; besides, she wasn't the only offspring of the living Uchiha's

AN: Don't worry, I love you guys; I'll probably get the next chapter up either later today, or sometime tomorrow, but I promise, I'll finish this story. Every time one of my friends reads a story that just stops, or that someone never finished, they get really irritated, so I'll try my best not to be one of those people.

PS You should feel really bad if your one of those people; you've really made your readers sad. :'( Guilt trip, but I still love you all :D


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

AN: Kishimoto owns all except my characters-Kiminari, and Kimiko, and later characters. Also I'm probably not going to follow any of the story line except a few small things. I may take the characters outside their natural personalities, but that's because it's my story, and it'll add to it. Another thing: since I'm not following the story line of the series- All main (good) characters will start out the same age as they should be, but even though the Akatsuki will be around, the war will not happen until later; if it does at all. Again this is because I'm making up my own story line; it gets kinda boring when nothing has changed and, you readers would be able to guess what was going to happen all the time. So, enjoy, and please comment, review, rate, whatever you wanna do. :D

P.S. I don't like to go into detail to tell you things most of you already know, and if you don't already know them, then it's best I don't tell you.

PPS In mine-since I'll do what I like- Tobi(Obito) and Madara are both in control of the Akatsuki-lead by the later of the two. Also, Madara has already found a way to keep young, but not like that creeper Orochimaru-No little kids or young adults involved. XP

Back to Kimiko's P.O.V.

It had been about six months since Kakashi and Tsunade had taken me to see the Valley of end, and since then, I have learned many other things about my family -some from my mentors and others from being in my new home. I moved into the clan leader's home two months ago, and I found some new memory everyday while cleaning or moving things around.

I didn't particularly care for the layout that Mikoto Uchiha had planned for the living room. There was too much space in the center too little space to walk around the edges; I suppose with kids in the house that had been the best way to have things placed at the time. I decided to search for ideas next time I went to the library, but when I decided to clean one of the book shelves in the small library, I ran across a book that had sketches and paintings of the house as it had been in the past several generations. I looked through it and, by luck, ran across some sketches of layouts that I happened to really like; they had been from when Sasuke's father, Fugaku, had been a child.

After I had rearranged the furniture, I finished cleaning the bookshelf and ran across another family book with several loose sketches and paintings pressed between the pages. As I looked through them, I found five or six of my father and his brother Izuna, growing up; these I placed carefully into frames which I later hung around the house.

Since I had been living there alone, Kakashi came by often, frequently staying the night as well and claiming that he only did so because he worried about me, but I knew it was just so he could get someone to cook for him. I tended to have friends over several times a week for movie or game nights as well, so I was never really lonely. Having all the company also made the place feel more lively; not like a house, but like a home.

Time skip again (2 years). :D sorry

PS: Kimiko is now fifteen.

Madara's P.O.V.

I walked through my old home, taking in all the changes that had been made, and all the things that had been kept the same. I noticed that the layout of most of the furniture throughout the house, was different, but this girl had done a good job; nothing was too close and there was not too much empty space. I had watched her train from a distance for several hours yesterday and again today, and I had admitted to myself, that she was indeed very good. She had already completely mastered the sharingan up to a mature level -I assumed her mentors wouldn't allow her to know how to achieve the mangekou sharingan- and had outstanding control over it as well. She was well above average in all areas, but I had noticed one flaw; she was, when not fighting or standing idle, the clumsiest child I had ever seen.

Walking through the outdoor market: trips on an empty bag

Walking through the outdoor market: trips over dog

Walking through the outdoor market: trips over self

Walking up library steps: trips

Leaving library: completely misses door as it closes: quick thought up replacement jutsu

Walking back to Uchiha compound: trips over a stray marble from nearby children

Entering her home: trips herself while taking off shoe

ETC

ETC

ETC

Need I go on?

While I was admiring an old portrait of my brother and myself, I heard a loud crash on the stairs; that would be her now-quiet as a mouse…until she trips yet again. As she picked up whatever it was she had dropped, I heard her cursing under her breath; she sounded just like her mother- this actually brought the ghost of a smile to my face. When I heard the door open, I hid myself in a side room filled with books and waited until she passed by, but as she did I saw the slightest catch in her stride, telling me she had tensed up; _Oh, so she's sensed my chakra. I thought I'd masked it well enough. Let's see what she does then._

Kimiko's P.O.V.

As I walked up the stairs to my house, I tripped dropping all my groceries. _UUUUUgggghhhh! Not again; I've only tripped four times _today _why not a fifth time?_ "You know, they say shit happens, but it seems that _worst _of it likes to fuck up my day." I said to myself quietly.

Once I had picked everything up, I continued on into the house. I had noticed, as I neared the house that it seemed a little quiet, no crickets or anything, but I'd brushed it off; it felt like it might rain, maybe that was why. However, upon entering my house, I sensed something strange, a little like someone's chakra, but still way different. As I passed the library, my suspicions were confirmed; there was definitely someone in my house. I tensed up a little; either they're too stupid to mask their chakra, or they're too confident to, but either way, they were about to get their ass out of my house before I kicked 'em out.

"If you want out, you'd better take your chance now." I said confidently. Nothing happened, so, keeping my guard up high, I reached out to the chakra, and upon sensing that it held no threatening intents, I said jokingly, "Or would you like to stay for dinner?" Still nothing, but the chakra holder's feelings showed that they had felt some confusion at my words and actions. I walked down to the library, where I knew they still were, and flipped on the lights; I didn't see anyone, but they were there alright, and it wasn't a clone.

There was only one place they could hide, so I walked straight over to the cabinet that held pencils, paper, and a rack for blankets in the winter time. I quietly pulled the tanto -I kept in replacement of my katana when off duty- out of its sheath on my right hip -I liked to use it back-handed as it you can's stab anything with it- and carefully opened the door. At first I saw nothing, but, deciding it was a genjutsu, I slashed about midway, earning exactly what I'd wanted; a kunai had stopped my blade.

I could tell that whoever this was, was keeping the genjutsu on their appearance up, but I decided to let them have a little fun before I ruined that for them. As they advanced on me I slipped to the right then came up behind them; as they spun around, I ducked to avoid their line of vision, and came up behind their back, activating my sharingan. I continued to shadow them by sensing their movements-something that had never failed to irritate my friends while sparing. After almost a minute, they reacted how I'd wanted them to, spinning only partway, then deciding to reverse, so that we would come face to face, all the while assuming I would fall for the trick; both our plans succeeded. I had already lunged as they came face to face with me, and this finally caught them off guard; I pinned whoever it was up against a nearby bookshelf, using an almost unnecessary amount of chakra, but fearing that using any less would give them an advantage.

"So, is that 'you'll stay for dinner with _me_', or 'you'll stay for dinner with _Ibik_i'?" I asked with a giggle; there were not many stray ninja who came here who hadn't heard of Ibiki Morino.

My captive stiffened a little at the mention of his name, knowing that having being caught by me, they could just as easily be brought to him. "I didn't intend on staying, much less on harming you." There was a pause, then, "However, I think I will stay for a while; I'd really like to get to know you better. You seem like a very talented kunoichi." I nodded releasing my hold on them and heading back to the kitchen.

"Aren't you afraid to turn your back so easily on someone who has just attacked you?" He asked

"I don't like to hold grudges." I replied. "Also, I can tell you're not going to try anything again; I can feel it through your chakra -and you can't control that so don't bother trying". I laughed out loud as I glanced at his face; while nearly devoid of expression, it still revealed that he'd been shocked at all that I'd just said.

"How did you learn to do something like that?" He asked, curious now.

"Well, when I was little, I was raised in an orphanage in Suna. I was told that I wouldn't be allowed to attend the ninja academy there. The older girls would always tease me about how I would never be more than a pet to some man, unable to even defend myself. As they started to attend the academy, they found that I was an easy target for violence as well as the teasing. Eventually, I learned to sense when one of them was angry, or when they were planning verbal or physical abuse; this helped me out a lot as we grew older."

"But you're obviously a ninja now. Did you run away or something?"

"No, a jonin boy attacked me one day, and I just snapped. Something happened that I had no control of." I said.

"What happened?" Man this guy was pushy. _Oh well, maybe it'll keep him more in check._

"Well, at first we didn't know. Gaara, the kazekage, had Lady Tsunade send Kakashi and he had blood tests run on me. When they found out that I had a kekei genkei that was tied to my eyesight, Kakashi brought me here, and I began training." I recounted as Kakashi had told me.

"So did you ever find out what kind it was?"

_Hmm. If he wants to know, I'll tell him._ "The sharingan, obviously; I mean, we are in an Uchiha house." I said sarcastically, but still good-naturedly.

"So you're an Uchiha? What about your parents, weren't all the Uchiha wiped out years ago?" He asked, politely.

"My mother was a kunoichi from Kokan no Mura, named Kiminari Uzumaki."

"And your father?" I had been told not to tell anyone unless I first had the hokage's permission.

"I can't tell you that."

"Why not? It wouldn't make any difference to me anyway."

"Then of course, I don't have to tell you. If it makes no difference, then why do you continue to ask?" I said with a giggle. I knew that, whoever he was, he had found it quite amusing, that I had turned his own words against him.

He let out a short chuckle. "Well, it just so happens that I really _don't_ need to know. By the way, you never mentioned your name."

"I usually don't have the need to give my name to people who are in my home; we are usually well aquainted. Furthermore, when I don't know a person, I, being a woman, prefer to know the strangers name, before giving my own." I smirked.

"Very well, Kimiko." WHAT?! HE ALREADY KNEW MY NAME?!He smirked seeing that I had immediately tensed up. "My name is Madara Uchiha. I believe I am your father."

AN: Please forgive the whole 'I am your father' clichéness, but there really isn't a non-corny way to put it. XD


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

AN: Kishimoto owns all except my characters-Kiminari, and Kimiko, and later characters. Also I'm probably not going to follow any of the story line except a few small things. I may take the characters outside their natural personalities, but that's because it's my story, and it'll add to it. Another thing: since I'm not following the story line of the series- All main (good) characters will start out the same age as they should be, but even though the Akatsuki will be around, the war will not happen until later; if it does at all. Again this is because I'm making up my own story line; it gets kinda boring when nothing has changed and, you readers would be able to guess what was going to happen all the time. So, enjoy, and please comment, review, rate, whatever you wanna do. :D

P.S. I don't like to go into detail to tell you things most of you already know, and if you don't already know them, then it's best I don't tell you.

PPS In mine -since I'll do what I like- Tobi(Obito) and Madara are both in control of the Akatsuki-lead by the later of the two. Also, Madara has already found a way to keep young, but not like that creeper Orochimaru-No little kids or young adults involved. XP

"Very well, Kimiko." WHAT?! HE ALREADY KNEW MY NAME?! He smirked seeing that I had immediately tensed up. "My name is Madara Uchiha. I believe I am your father."

I burst into laughter. This guy was just some creeper trying to get money, a place to live, and a name for himself. I was crying from laughter when I asked, "You know, that's not what Madara looks like, right?" I gestured to his overall appearance. "If you're going to use genjutsu, you should probably do your research."

"_You_ do realize that I look completely different, without the genjutsu, right?" He asked mocking me. "Did it ever occur to you that I didn't want to be recognized?"

I replied just a mockingly, "If Madara did not want to be seen, then he would not have been; and if you were going to reveal yourself to me anyway, then why the disguise? I wasn't aware the great Madara Uchiha liked to announce himself so theatrically." I continued to laugh and cry. "If you really are Madara, then forgive me being so blunt, but '_Father_', you must be really stupid and vain if this is how you introduce yourself to people."

"You are most definitely your mother's daughter. Fine, have it your way." He ended the genjutsu; it really was him.

I tried to subdue my laughter, but it only grew more. "I am so sorry, but it's even funnier knowing that my second assumption is true, instead of the first."

"You, child, are treading on very thin ice."

"OOOHHH," I laughed. "So?" I asked, my laughter halting; nobody threatened me. He might be ten or more times stronger than me, but I wouldn't go down without a fight. He saw the abruptness of the change in my attitude and smiled.

"I guess you're my child too." I smiled back smugly and stood. At least he understood that I wouldn't take threats and I knew how to get on his nerves; we already seemed to be developing a normal father-daughter relationship.

"So, is chicken and rice OK?" I asked walking to the counter. "I've probably got enough inarizushi to heat up and throw in too."

"If you're a decent cook, then that sounds nice." He said walking over to help me. "Your mother would never allow me to sit idle while she cooked, and I normally wouldn't allow myself." He stated, while he began to cut the chicken. "If you don't mind, I actually came here to ask you something."

"I don't." I replied simply.

"Would you like to come with me?"

"Where?" I asked dumbfounded. He waited a moment, as his question sunk in and I remembered why he'd left. I'd also heard rumor that he was the leader of the Akatsuki, but up until now, that was only rumor. "What if I say no?" I asked conversationally.

"I had hoped you wouldn't say that. However, I'm at a three way tie of what to do if that is the answer. I haven't decided if I should use your connections as a tool against you, or if I should use your name. Then again, I had thought about simply kidnapping you, but I thought, it's really your choice." He smirked.

"You really are awful, you know?" I thought for a moment. "What's in it for me if I do come?"

He chuckled. "Well, we get to be a family, and I had hoped you would start your own. You see, one other survivor of the Uchiha massacre -well, actually one of the few who helped make it happen- has a son not two years older than you. I figured, if you met him and decided you liked him, well, then you two could move back here and restart the clan. If you decided you didn't like each other, then I would send you back here as well; I don't exactly want you in harm's way. Either way it works out in your favor."

"And why did you plan it that way?" I asked.

"Because, the clan comes first, and as long as you marry someone strong, without a conflicting kekei genkei, then I'll be glad you have started an effort in rebuilding the clan. Also, to tell you the truth, I don't know what I would do if you met the same fate as your mother." He said a bit softer. Though is face was stone set and serious, I could tell he meant it.

"So either way, I pretty much get to do what I want. What will I do for the Akatsuki while I'm there?" I asked, wondering to myself.

"Probably not much. If you wish to go on missions, you may, but only if I allow it. Along with at least _attempting_ to get to know Kazuma, you may do as you wish. I do hope you'll agree, not only would it be easier for both of us, but it would make me very happy."

I thought for a moment. He was right, it would be easier to simply agree. Besides, I hadn't even thought of how I was going to meet someone who's talents and kekei genkei were compatable with mine; I might as well give it a try. I nodded. "How long will I be there?"

"We'll give it a year or so. If you're not happy, I'll try to find a way for the two of you to return here and you may each chose who you like."

"OK, deal." I highly doubted I'd like the guy anyway, but at least I would probably learn a few things from my father. "Now how are we going to make me disappear?" I asked with a mischievous smirk.

AN: Don't forget about the drawing entries! If you would like, I'm starting a competition. Just send me a link in the reviews, or on private messaging of a drawing, sketch, or painting of your favorite characters from my stories. You may include characters that are from the actual universe, but all entries must include at least one of the stories OCs. I'll start the first drawing on March 1, but if you're just reading, don't worry. I plan to continue this for a while


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

AN: Kishimoto owns all except my characters-Kiminari, and Kimiko, and later characters. Also I'm probably not going to follow any of the story line except a few small things. I may take the characters outside their natural personalities, but that's because it's my story, and it'll add to it. Another thing: since I'm not following the story line of the series- All main (good) characters will start out the same age as they should be, but even though the Akatsuki will be around, the war will not happen until later; if it does at all. Again this is because I'm making up my own story line; it gets kinda boring when nothing has changed and, you readers would be able to guess what was going to happen all the time. So, enjoy, and please comment, review, rate, whatever you wanna do. :D

P.S. I don't like to go into detail to tell you things most of you already know, and if you don't already know them, then it's best I don't tell you.

PPS In mine-since I'll do what I like- Tobi(Obito) and Madara are both in control of the Akatsuki-lead by the later of the two. Also, Madara has already found a way to keep young, but not like that creeper Orochimaru-No little kids or young adults involved. XP

"OK, deal." I highly doubted I'd like the guy anyway, but at least I would probably learn a few things from my father. "Now how are we going to make me disappear?" I asked with a mischievous smirk.

We discussed my 'kidnapping' while preparing dinner. Father had decided that he would forge the kidnapper's note; what it would say though, I hadn't the slightest idea. Over dinner-which was amazing having two good cooks instead of only one- I fully expressed how upset I was at leaving. He said he understood, and told me how he felt when he had left the village. I argued that he had left feeling that it was the right thing to do, but he, in turn, said that I was doing the same thing.

"You only agreed to come after I told you of my intentions. If I had given you the options without any consequences, you would have chosen to stay."

I had to agree. "But would you have really done something to hurt the village, or would you have done it to hurt me?"

"Both are the same. No, I would not have done anything to hurt you physically, but by hurting your village, I would have successfully hurt you. Even if I had decided to attack your reputation, it still would have come around to hurt them as well." He's almost as sneaky as me; always having a way around everything, yet still coming to the same conclusion.

After dinner, I took him around the house; he had asked to see the changes and since he doubted much had remained the same since he had lived here, I showed him everything. He was quite pleased with most of the layout; the only thing he had objected to was all of the pictures of himself as a child and young adult.

"I remember my mother forcing us to stand still while someone drew these, that's why many are only sketches; we didn't have the patience to stand long enough for the artist to paint them." He said remembering the occasions.

"I think they're sweet." I said looking at one of him and Izuna sitting together as toddlers, with their mother kneeling behind them. "I guess being an only child makes me want a little sibling rivalry, or someone to really know and understand. I've not really had much want for parental figures; between Kakashi, Sakura and Ino, and the Suna siblings, I've always had someone to watch over me. But it really is nice to know I do have a real father." I finished smiling at him.

"I left the master bedroom open, if you'd like to borrow it. It's really too big for me, so I took a smaller one." I said leading him down the hall. Once we got to his room for the night, I turned to go to my own, but he followed me. As I walked into my own room, he stopped at the door and looked around.

"This was my room growing up. Do you know who lived here last?" He asked.

"Probably Itatchi. He was the oldest of the two." I replied, knowing he would understand; Itatchi did work for him, after all.

"Don't forget to pack tonight, because I plan to leave around four thirty, and if you don't have everything you want, then it stays here."

I laughed at his warning, turning around to face him. "You sound like you've been a father for some time. I understand though." I said nodding, then walking to my closet. I looked up to the top shelf where Kakashi had placed my suitcase. Knowing I couldn't reach it normally, I jumped grabbing onto the top rail and pulling myself up so that I could grab the handle. Once I had retrieved it I turned to place it on the bed and saw that he was still standing in the doorway. "What?" I asked questioning the raised eyebrow on his face.

"You could have asked for help."

"No, I couldn't. I didn't need help, so why would I ask for it?" He shrugged smirking. He was trying to get me worked up again; _so that's where I got it from. _"And don't say it's because I'm short, because I'm not; I'm just vertically challenged." I said jokingly.

He continued to watch as I packed, noting that my style seemed to vary quite a bit. I told him were I got the inspirations from, and he smirked. "So, what you're saying is, you have no sense of style, so you're copying others'?"

"No, I just happen to like what I've seen on other people. Is it a bad thing to want to look like my parents sometimes?" I asked seriously.

"No, I guess not." He said smirking again. "I'll wake you up early. We'll get breakfast on the way; I don't want to waste any time." And with that he finally left me to myself.

AN: Sorry these took so long, but SENIOR YEAR! :C With all the homework, I'll probably only post on Fridays and weekends, but I'll try to put up more than one at a time. :D


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

AN: Kishimoto owns all except my characters-Kiminari, and Kimiko, and later characters. Also I'm probably not going to follow any of the story line except a few small things. I may take the characters outside their natural personalities, but that's because it's my story, and it'll add to it. Another thing: since I'm not following the story line of the series- All main (good) characters will start out the same age as they should be, but even though the Akatsuki will be around, the war will not happen until later; if it does at all. Again this is because I'm making up my own story line; it gets kinda boring when nothing has changed and, you readers would be able to guess what was going to happen all the time. So, enjoy, and please comment, review, rate, whatever you wanna do. :D

P.S. I don't like to go into detail to tell you things most of you already know, and if you don't already know them, then it's best I don't tell you.

PPS In mine-since I'll do what I like- Tobi(Obito) and Madara are both in control of the Akatsuki-lead by the later of the two. Also, Madara has already found a way to keep young, but not like that creeper Orochimaru-No little kids or young adults involved. XP

PPPS In case anyone has been wondering, I try to base my own characters off people I already know, instead of myself-writing about myself; it's just kinda weird. Kimiko is based on my cousin-were close to the same age, and although we are very similar, she's way more active than me( I tried dance, and it was just too much work. XD). Kazuma will be based on a friend from school. Others will be mentioned later. :D

"I'll wake you up early. We'll get breakfast on the way; I don't want to waste any time." And with that he finally left me to myself.

We left around four thirty, as planned, and ran through the trees until about ten. By that time my stomach was growling really loud. I looked to my father, who had used genjutsu to change his appearances: light brown hair, tan skin, dull brown eyes; pretty average looking, and saw him smirking at me in an extremely annoying way. "What?" I asked.

"It seems like you're not used to going so long without a meal." He replied.

"No, but I'm fine." I said trying to maintain my dignity.

"Here." He said giving me a soldier pill. "I don't plan on carrying you if you crash, and I don't believe we'll stop." I looked at him questioningly. "I want to see how good your stamina is… And there are six ANBU nearby, if we happen to run across them, you'll be in trouble."

"What if I use a disguise genjutsu too?" I asked.

"That would definitely help, as well as masking your chakra. However, I don't think they'd let two unidentified ninja pass unquestioned."

I quickly used the genjutsu to change my appearances until they were similar to his- since our facial structure was similar we appeared to be an average father and daughter traveling together. Then I removed my head band and sealed it within a scroll, with some other smaller stuff, which I had in my backpack. He nodded a little, then said. "You're definitely used to making your way if someone doesn't give it to you, huh?"

"Yup!" I nodded grinning.

Since the soldier pill didn't hold me as long as it should have-I have a very high metabolism-, we stopped at a tea house around one o'clock. I ordered chicken with rice and dango for dessert, along with chilled green tea since it was quite hot. When I was done, I looked at my father's plate. _Wow, he doesn't eat a lot._ I thought. I raised an eyebrow, pointing at his food -the same as mine, except no dango. He nodded, getting the idea, and I pulled the remains of the food across the table to myself. Within a minute or two more, I'd devoured his as well.

He chuckled softly and said, "You eat like your mother; like it's your last meal."

I smiled back patting my belly. "And there's always room for more. However, I think we should get going." I pointed to a group of dangerous looking men in the corner. "They aren't ninja, so I felt their feelings with my chakra, and I'm pretty sure they think they can rob us." I whispered with a joking smirk which my father mirrored exactly.

He nodded and stood up stretching and putting on the 'middle aged and stiff, non-ninja' show. I stood and followed him out after paying. We walked through the town heading toward the exit, both of us feeling the presence of the four men following us. When we were about a mile out of town, they began to gain on us, and when we were about two miles out, we could _hear_ them walking through the forest a few yard away, trying to be sneaky. I had still carried my tanto on my hip since people saw it as a simple weapon, easy to use, and though 'nearly useless when attacking', it served as good protection, especially for women, and wouldn't have been thought of. I was glad I had kept it, since it gave the impression that I needed it to protect myself.

We continued walking, pretending to be oblivious to them. Finally we heard them running through the brush ahead of us, hoping to ambush us. Sure enough, about another quarter of a mile up the road, they jumped out; two in front, and two behind us. My father glanced at me, and my lips lifted the slightest, trying to show him how humored I was by their attempts.

"Can I help you?" My father asked in a nervous tone. Boy he's good at tricking people. I stepped slightly behind him, trying to appear frightened; it worked.

"Yeah, you can gi'me all your money, so we don' have ta dig for it after we've killed ya." He said menacingly, all of his friends laughing.

"I'm sorry, but we don't have anymore, we used the last of it paying for dinner."

"Well, I don' really believe ya, but if that's tha case, you can give us tha pretty li'le thing hiddin' behind ya." He said even more menacingly.

I sensed the men behind us creep closer to us, so I put up the act more, making a scared face and pulling myself even closer to my father.

"I don't think you'll be wanting to try that." My father said dead serious now; it was hard to tell if he was just saying it, or if he was really being protective.

As he finished, the leader of the group, laughed and waved at his friends to attack us. I stood were I was, while my father attacked the one coming from the front, pretending like I hadn't noticed the ones behind us. When they were an arms-length from me, I ducked and slipped backwards between them. They stumbled trying to regain their balance and turn around. When they did, I smirked at them with my hands on my hips.

"Don' mess with us girl." One said. "All ya got's that pretty knife o' yours, an' it ain' gonna do ya much good."

I laughed. "Then I guess I'll use your own against you." I said.

They laughed and came at me again, as they did, I grabbed the one on my right's right arm -with his sword in it- and twisted it until he released his grip on the weapon. Once he had, I pulled him in so his face met my knee as it lifted. Once he was out, I picked up his sword and faced the other one.

"So, how do you want to go down?" I asked smiling.

He growled and came towards me as fast as he could. I let him swing his sword at my head, before parrying. He tried again at my stomach, then lunged at me. As he did so, I made a quarter of a turn to the left, so that the sword went right past my stomach, and as he continued past me, I brought the butt of the sword I was holding down on his back just below the neck, knocking him out cold. I turned to look at my father, who, along with the ring leader, had been watching me.

"He chicken out?" I asked smiling and pointing at the guy.

"No, not exactly." My father replied. "This is Kakuzu. He's a member of the Akatsuki." As he said this, the man lowered his genjutsu long enough for me to see the half masked bounty hunter I had seen on a lot of wanted posters. I nodded, then walked over to my father as they started to leave.

"I'll go to the bounty office, and have someone meet you to pick them up." He said in a deep voice, losing the act altogether.

My father nodded and, after Kakuzu had gone, walked over to sit on a nearby branch that had fallen. "He had a few guys he wanted a bounty on who were in the area, so he sent a mental message through Pein, asking me if I wanted him to meet up with us. So, I asked him to let us take care of them."

"You wanted to see what I could do, and flaunt it to him at the same time, didn't you?" I said accusingly.

"Why not, you have very nice fighting skills, and they're not all taught; you inherited many of them from me." I smiled a little shyly.

A few minutes later, he spoke again. "You should know, Kakuzu doesn't know who I really am, only a few of the members do. Right now he thinks I'm a subordinate named Hayato, who's bringing someone important to Pein, or Leader-sama."

I raised an eyebrow. "Pein is controlled by Nagato and Nagato works under myself and Obito, or Tobi." He pulled out a small booklet from a pouch on his hips and began showing me pictures of each member via wanted ads. I quickly learned who was who and how I should address them. He also explained that no one was to know who I really was unless he said I could tell them. When he was done, he turned to some other pages near the back book with pictures of younger looking men pasted onto them.

"These are all men I have preapproved, should you choose not to marry Kazuma." He said, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

"Hm. Sounds like you've really put some thought into this." I said jokingly.

"I just don't want you to end up with someone who will ruin the blood line, but at the same time, I want you to be happy; your mother would have wanted you to be happy."

I was a little touched, but a little embarrassed; I mean, how many girls these days already have their prospective suitors decided by their father when they were still fifteen? "Which one's Kazuma?" I asked looking at the boys -all around my age, and all quite attractive.

"This one." He said pointing to a very handsome boy with black hair and charcoal eyes. This boy seemed to be a bit less serious than some of the others, and seemed to have quite a bit of overconfidence in himself- probably over his ninja skills.

"Hm. Well, he doesn't seem too bad. What's he like?"

"You'll have to see when you meet him."

_Jerk. Why won't he just tell me something?_ "Who's that?" I asked pointing to another young man with black hair-although it didn't seem as black as Kazuma's.

"Oh, that's Haru, the adopted brother of Deidara." I briefly remembered Deidara's wanted picture- long blond hair and blue eyes, still quite young.

I laughed. "Funny name for a guy; especially one with _black_ hair*." He nodded in agreement. "What's he like?"

"Polite enough, quiet, but very intelligent. He doesn't possess a kekei genkei, but he has an immense chakra stamina and is exceptional in all areas of jutsu, although he is a bit on the shallow end of pain tolerance."

"Hm."

"I wouldn't waste your time with him though." He added.

"Why not?"

"His brother, Deidara, has a very strong hatred for anyone with the name Uchiha, and you couldn't keep your name from him forever. Itachi made a bet with Deidara when recruiting him and Deidara lost to the sharingan; he's hated itachi since."

"Oh, well that's too bad. He looks like a pretty nice guy."

My father chuckled. "You can try whatever you want if you decide you don't like Kazuma; however, don't expect Haru to work out." I giggled. At least I could do whatever I wanted.

Haru means sunshine. It is a boy name too. :D


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

AN: Kishimoto owns all except my characters-Kiminari, and Kimiko, and later characters. Also I'm probably not going to follow any of the story line except a few small things. I may take the characters outside their natural personalities, but that's because it's my story, and it'll add to it. Another thing: since I'm not following the story line of the series- All main (good) characters will start out the same age as they should be, but even though the Akatsuki will be around, the war will not happen until later; if it does at all. Again this is because I'm making up my own story line; it gets kinda boring when nothing has changed and, you readers would be able to guess what was going to happen all the time. So, enjoy, and please comment, review, rate, whatever you wanna do. :D

P.S. I don't like to go into detail to tell you things most of you already know, and if you don't already know them, then it's best I don't tell you.

PPS Kazuma and Haru will be based on friends from school. Others will be mentioned later. :D

PPPS I'll try to keep Tobi's dialogue structure as close to the original as possible. And I'm not going to put any suffixes after Deidara's either; it's really not that noticeable in the anime, and it takes a lot of time.

When Kakuzu returned, he had reapplied his genjutsu, but now appeared to be realated to us. He had the same dull brown eyes, and slightly darker hair; by the looks of it, he was trying to play the uncle. I rolled my eyes as he recounted the 'exact story' of what had happened, and how his 'brother' had fought them off to protect us. If anything, the Akatsuki didn't hire bad liars.

When he had been paid his money, for the bounty on them, we set out. No one really talked at all during the trip, and I was a little angry that he had decided to tag along; I had wanted to learn more about my father. After another two hours or so, we arrived at this huge cave-like thing. We walked pretty far into it, before stopping at an area, of stone on the left side of the cave, that I could sense a lot of jutsu surrounding. We were instructed by Kakuzu to look away as he opened the entrance –because my father, 'Hayato', was still only a subordinate, and I was even lower ranked than that.

We entered after he told us we could, and followed him through several tunnels until we got to another section of wall, to which he treated the same as the previous. After that, we appeared to be in a building type area with several halls leading from one main hall. (AN: Yeah, I know it's far from original, but I like the idea. :D) I made sure to pay close attention to the order in which we took turns: Right at the fourth hall, then right again on the second, left at the end of that. Then we turned left again down a hall with five doors; three on the left and two on the right. We took the last one on the right which had four more doors inside; one on each wall. He had us wait outside while he went talked to 'leader-sama', then when he returned, he sent us in the room directly ahead –the office he'd just returned from.

As soon as we entered, my father turned and locked the door. A man with bright orange hair and piercings, whom I knew to be Pein from the book my father had shown me, stood and bowed deeply to my father, mimicked by the blue haired woman behind him –Konan. My father released his genjutsu, and I followed suit. Once I had been properly introduced, and he had told us how we should act while I was around, he lead me out of the room and into the office to the right of the one we were in.

When we entered, a dark haired, masked man –Tobi or Obito- stood and bowed as Pein and Konan had. My father began to explain our plan. While I was with the Akatsuki, I would be myself, but I would go by a different name; I chose Maiko. (AN: Dancing child. LOL ) I would also be the adopted daughter of Tobi -since no one knew Kazuma was his son, this would work out perfectly XP. Once my father thought we understood, he left, telling me he would see me tonight, but to stay safe until then –well to stay out of trouble until then.

I followed 'Tobi' back out into the hall and to the left. We entered a large room with a few people in it.

"Hey! Deidara Senpai, you're here!"

Glare.

"Leader-sama wants me to introduce somebody new." He pulled me into what I assumed was supposed to look like a crushing hug, but was really only uncomfortable. "This is Maiko everybody. She's my new daughter."

8P Sweat drop XP

"Tobi, I've told you to stop lying, it gets very annoying." Said Deidara.

"Deidara senpai doesn't believe me." He said looking at me.

"Well, it's true." I said even though my face was still squished in his hug.

Everyone looked up and 'Tobi' nodded. "Follow me." He said to me. "There's someone very important for you to meet."

He drug me across the room and grabbed ahold of a young man's arm pulling him along with us. We exited the room and he let go, turning to face us. "Kazuma," He said in his normal voice. "this is Kimiko. You will call her Maiko, while she is here, though." We both glanced at each other in an awkward greeting. "Why don't you show her where her room is going to be, and where yours is in case she needs anything." Kazuma nodded, and Obito left us alone in the hall, returning to the adjoining room- and his annoying alternate persona.

"So, how long have you known about your father's arrangements?" He asked knowingly.

"Only two days. You?" I asked.

"Since I was six."

"Wow, that sucks." He nodded.

"Do you mind if a friend comes along, so it won't be so awkward?" He asked slightly nervous.

"Please." I responded relieved to know that he was as tense as I was.

He stepped partway into the room again and motioned to someone. They walked back out together, and I recognized the friend as Haru. He introduced us and then they lead me down the hall to my room. (AN: Instead of continuously describing things, I've simply created a map, which I will try to follow. :D ) It was of decent size, yet larger than mine at home. It had sandy gold walls with navy blue accents; I absolutely loved it. Then they led me to each of their rooms; Kazumas was the closest, followed by Haru's.

After showing me these, Kazuma leaned down and whispered to me, "Your father's room is across the hall between our rooms." He indicated himself and Haru. I nodded, understanding that Haru shouldn't know this. I glanced across the hall to check for a door, but as I expected, there was none; I would have to ask my father how to get in and out.

"Soooo." Kazuma said scratching the back of his head. "You guys wanna go train some?"

"Sure." Haru replied cheerfully.

I nodded my consent. I was glad that he was just as uncomfortable about this as I was.

While we continued down the hall, I noticed that Haru was continuously glancing at me. It was getting kinda weird.

"Can I help you with something?" I asked lightly.

His face pinkened a little from being caught in the act, but he simply replied, "I just don't see how or why _Tobi _of all people would adopt you."

I laughed. "I honestly don't either; I'm still trying to adjust to it. I'm really happy he did, though." I smiled at him.

"Why?" Questioned Kazuma, playing along, and turning slightly while he walked.

"Well, I guess because now I have a real family. He does get kinda annoying, but he's still sweet." I said using his behavior from earlier and playing on it.

Kazuma smirked a little at this. "Oh, you have no idea how annoying."

I giggled. I wonder if he'll get into trouble over that.

"So, have you trained much?" Asked Haru.

"Oh, yes. I used have a mentor that I lived with, who trained me, but he died two years ago." I said quickly fabricating a story for Haru's sake. "I continued to live in his home alone until about a month ago, when Tobi found me."

"I'm not sure whether I should say it was kind of him or cruel of him to adopt you." Joked Haru.

"Yeah, tell me about it." Agreed Kazuma. I could sense his true meaning behind it though; like most teenage boys he thought he was smart enough not to be told what to do. Cute.

"So, how old are you guys?" I asked them.

"We're both sixteen." Replied Haru.

"Well, I'm fifteen, but I'll be sixteen in about three months." I grinned.

We trained for a while, me holding way back, and them gaping at how strong I was. Appearances can be deceiving, and are generally _very_ deceiving in women. After an hour or so of that, we returned to the common area and went through it to the kitchen.

"No one really has the time to cook, so you just kinda make your own stuff." Haru told me.

"Well, don't expect it too often, but if you want I can make the three of us something." I offered.

They both agreed enthusiastically, and I got to work making my famous Inarizushi with a side of chicken and dango for dessert; my absolute favorite meal; plain though it may be. When I had finished and they had begun to eat, I asked what they thought.

"I don't even know what to say Maiko." Said Haru. "I don't think I've ever eaten anything this good in my entire life!"

"Agreed." Was Kazuma's reply as he ate.

I laughed at them and thanked them for their complements_. I think I might like it here after all._


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

AN: Kishimoto owns all except my characters-Kiminari, and Kimiko, and later characters. Also I'm probably not going to follow any of the story line except a few small things. I may take the characters outside their natural personalities, but that's because it's my story, and it'll add to it. Another thing: since I'm not following the story line of the series- All main (good) characters will start out the same age as they should be, but even though the Akatsuki will be around, the war will not happen until later; if it does at all. Again this is because I'm making up my own story line; it gets kinda boring when nothing has changed and, you readers would be able to guess what was going to happen all the time. So, enjoy, and please comment, review, rate, whatever you wanna do. :D

P.S. I don't like to go into detail to tell you things most of you already know, and if you don't already know them, then it's best I don't tell you.

PPS Kazuma and Haru will be based on friends from school. Others will be mentioned later. :D

PPPS I'll try to keep Tobi's dialogue structure as close to the original as possible. And I'm not going to put any suffixes after Deidara's either; it's really not that noticeable in the anime, and it takes a lot of time.

PPPPS From an earlier chapter, I have learned from Smoker Taichou, who was kind enough to review to tell me, that Uzushiogakure did not have a kage. Although, I will keep it the same for the purpose of the story, I would still like to thank Smoker Taichou again for pointing this out. I also hope all of you readers will continue to read, review, and give tips. :D love you all!

After dinner, we hung out in the common room and played cards. It was beginning to feel like I was being accepted by my two new friends. We shared our likes, dislikes, and hobbies. Kazuma was hardly interesting at all, accept for his nice, fit, build, but Haru, was quite friendly –and he was built nicely too, albeit a bit smaller and leaner than Kazuma. When I told them that I loved to dance, Kazuma was slightly interested, but Haru talked about how he would have to take me to some nearby village sometime during a festival, so I could teach him how to dance.

"I'm really not that good." I said. "I just enjoy it, that's all."

"Oh, I'm sure you're better than you think." He replied. _Is it just me, or does he seem a little flirty?_

"So, what about you, Kazuma?" I asked turning my attention to him. "Would you like to go to a festival sometime?" I joked.

"Honestly, I think I would only bore you. Besides," He leaned in to whisper in my ear. "I think Haru would be jealous." He moved away, laughing while I giggled.

Later, when we went to our rooms, Kazuma followed me to mine.

"Yes?" I asked as I opened my door.

"I just need to talk to you for a moment, if that's OK."

"Sure." I said walking into the room and flipping on the lights.

"When your father told me of his plans, two weeks ago, I was really upset, you know."

"Wait, two weeks ago? But you said you'd known about this for years." I said confused.

"I only said that so you wouldn't know how awkward this all was for me; I didn't want you to be too uncomfortable."

"Oh, well thank you." I said quietly. "Why were you upset, though?"

"Because, I already like someone." He said blushing a little and looking away slightly. "I didn't want our fathers to know, so I went ahead as planned." He said shame tinting his voice.

"Well, if you already have someone, don't worry about me; Dad has a whole list of people I can look at." I said rolling my eyes. "Besides, it makes more sense to marry other people anyway, because that's _two_ new families for our clan." I smiled. "Go for her." I giggled as he blushed again. "That way I'll be a sister _and_ an aunt." Now I was nearing hysterics, his blush had gone so deep.

"That's one of the reasons I brought Haru along with us today." He told me. "Since he has a lot of talent, but no kekei genkei, he'd be perfect." Now it was my turn to blush. "You know, I think he must like you; I've never seen him look at another girl like that." I could feel my face burning, so I punched his shoulder.

"Shut up." I said jokingly.

He smiled back. "Night. See you tomorrow." He waved over his shoulder as he left.

"Night." Was my quick reply. I couldn't tell my father about his girlfriend, but he'd understand that I didn't like him like that. Now the real question was how _do_ I break it to Haru easily that my father wasn't really Tobi, but Madara.

After twenty minutes or so of thought, I was interrupted by a soft knock on my door. I stood and crossed the room to answer it, sensing my father just outside.

"How was it?" He asked before the door was even closed behind him.

"It was OK." I answered. "Kazuma's OK, but I honestly think I like Haru better. I just don't know what I'm going to do about my name." I said looking down.

"Well, I was really hoping it wouldn't happen like this." He said slightly irritated.

"You know, I was thinking anyway; if Kazuma and I each married someone else, that would be _two _families restarting the clan. Wouldn't that be better in the long run?" I asked.

He looked at me and beamed. "I had come to the same conclusion, but I had hoped for the clans blood to be strengthened some before marrying outside it again; you and Kazuma are only half blood after all." He said thoughtfully. "However, I think this may be the perfect opportunity to breed out the clans curse, if that's possible." He said smirking at me. I nodded in agreement, remembering what Kakashi had told me about the curse of hatred.

We discussed different plans of how I could tell Haru about my true identity, and finally decided. My father would most likely be able to reintroduce himself to the rest of the ninja world within the next couple of years, so I would give Haru a heads up the night before he introduced himself to the Akatsuki. _Well, that's easier. I have almost two years to really get to know him._

After he left, I took a quick shower and then went to bed, missing my old friends back in Konoha and Suna, but also thinking of the two new friends I had made today.

Two weeks after I had arrived at the hideout, Kazuma and I had become good friends –almost as close as brother and sister- and Haru and I were in the awkward 'just started dating for the first time' phase. My father had told Obito about my decision, and he had laughed saying we were too different anyway; opposite enough to get along like siblings, but too much so to live together forever.

Today Kazuma, Haru, and I had trained for a while before joining the few members that remained at the hideout, in the common room. While Kakuzu was most likely in his room balancing some account, his partner, Hidan, was watching one of his numerous horror movies on the huge flat screen. Sasori was in the kitchen using the cookware to mix one of his potions –even though we'd all asked him not to-, so I hadn't been able to cook a good dinner. This lead to Deidara, Kazuma, Haru and me, sitting around the coffee table eating _microwaved_ ramen –yum :P.

Deidara and I had gotten to know each other a little better, and I was really getting worried about how he would react when they found out I was an Uchiha. From my mentioning hearing things about them, he seemed to only have genuine hate for Itachi, while only a mild dislike for the clan itself. Haru, on the other hand, seemed pretty at ease around Itachi, and seemed to have nothing against the clan at all, so I decided to talk about it with my father tonight.

We all looked up as we heard a loud scream come from the TV. The woman in the film had rounded the corner and had been frightened by her own reflection in a mirror. We all chuckled at this, but then her attacker appeared behind her and slit her throat.

I had always preferred to injure rather than kill my opponents; however, I had seen many enemies be killed by others on missions. It had never bothered me before, but seeing this innocent, defenseless, woman being murdered, really disturbed me. It didn't really scare me, so much as shock me; either way I turned white as a ghost –not that hard for me- and started shaking.

"Maiko, are you alright?" asked Haru, worriedly.

"These movies have never scared you before. What's wrong?" Kazuma asked, apparently worried as well.

I shook my head trying to forget the image I'd just seen. "I've just never seen an innocent person be killed like that." I said, my voice shaking.

Haru, who had been sitting right next to me, wrapped his left arm around my shoulder and his right arm hooked under my knees, lifting me off the floor. Kazuma stood and followed him to the door, holding it open for us as we exited into the hallway. I had turned my head to rest it in his neck as he walked, so I was surprised when we arrived in my room. He sat on the bed, keeping me in his lap and asked Kazuma to go get an extra blanket from my closet. When he returned, Haru gently wrapped the blanket around me, and hugged me close.

"I'll leave you guys for now." I heard Kazuma say.

When I'd heard the door click, I pulled my arms out of the blanket and wrapped them tightly around Haru's waist. He responded by smoothing my hair and whispering that everything was OK.

We sat like that for a while before I began to feel sleepy. I suppose Haru noticed this, because he gently unwrapped the blanket from around me, and placed me under it as well as the blanket that had already been on my bed. He remained there for a moment before standing to leave, but when he did, I reached out for his hand, catching it.

He turned to face me and I asked, "Can you stay here tonight?"

"Are you still scared?" He asked taunting me a little, trying to lift the mood.

"Yes." I replied honestly

He went around to the other side of the bed, and slid under the top blanket only. I rolled over to face him and he pulled me into a hug. _Maybe I should just tell him now._ I thought to myself.

"Can I be extremely honest with you?" I asked him. He looked at me funny, but then nodded. "When I came here, leader-sama told me that no one could know my real name, unless the circumstances changed. Well, they did, and I can tell you now." I said looking at him.

"But Maiko's such a pretty name." He said, sounding a little upset.

I giggled a little at that, then said, "You really won't like what I have to say though."

"Well, I'll try to understand. You're not some spy, are you?" He said accusingly.

"No. Of course not." I said. "My real name is Kimiko," I paused for a breath to steady myself, "Uchiha."

His body recoiled a little at the name, but then he asked, "You aren't closely related to Itachi are you?"

I laughed a little at his tone. "No, not closely. I'm still not allowed to tell you who my father is, but you'll find out in a couple of years anyway; he just doesn't want anyone to know yet –you know, he wants a 'dramatic entrance'." We both laughed at that. "I'll have to say, though. You handled me telling you that really well. I was scared it would be a really big problem." I admitted.

"Well, for my brother, it might be, but it's his own fault he doesn't like Itachi; he shouldn't have lost." We laughed again remembering the story of how Itachi had beaten Deidara in a bet.

"You'll probably have second thoughts when you find out about my dad." I told him.

"That's OK. Your family doesn't determine who you are; for the most part." He chuckled. "Besides I think I'm starting to love you." I blushed madly, grinning, and burying my face in his neck again as he hugged me tightly.

I fell asleep _that_ night thinking about how much I was really going to enjoy these next couple of years.

AN: Don't forget about the drawing entries! If you would like, I'm starting a competition. Just send me a link in the reviews, or on private messaging of a drawing, sketch, or painting of your favorite characters from my stories. You may include characters that are from the actual universe, but all entries must include at least one of the stories OCs. I'll start the first drawing on March 1, but if you're just reading, don't worry. I plan to continue this for a while


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

AN: Kishimoto owns all except my characters-Kiminari, and Kimiko, and later characters. Also I'm probably not going to follow any of the story line except a few small things. I may take the characters outside their natural personalities, but that's because it's my story, and it'll add to it. Another thing: since I'm not following the story line of the series- All main (good) characters will start out the same age as they should be, but even though the Akatsuki will be around, the war will not happen until later; if it does at all. Again this is because I'm making up my own story line; it gets kinda boring when nothing has changed and, you readers would be able to guess what was going to happen all the time. So, enjoy, and please comment, review, rate, whatever you wanna do. :D

P.S. I don't like to go into detail to tell you things most of you already know, and if you don't already know them, then it's best I don't tell you.

PPS Kazuma and Haru will be based on friends from school. Others will be mentioned later. :D

PPPS I'll try to keep Tobi's dialogue structure as close to the original as possible. And I'm not going to put any suffixes after Deidara's either; it's really not that noticeable in the anime, and it takes a lot of time.

Madara's P.O.V.

I heard a quiet knock on the wall that hid my door and sensed Obito's son, Kazuma, outside. As soon as I opened the door, he jumped into the room, knowing that I would close the door as quickly as I had opened it. He bowed deeply and said, "Madara-sama, Kimiko is just fine, but I thought I should tell you she nearly fainted." I raised an eyebrow, questioning him. "She was frightened by one of Hidan's movies." He clarified.

"Hm. I wasn't aware she was frightened of anything like that." I stated.

"She said it was because she's never seen anyone innocent being killed." I mentioned a bit quieter. I felt bad talking about her when she wasn't around.

"She's still very innocent. She's told me that she hasn't awakened her Mangekyo yet. I think we've found the perfect opportunity." I said thoughtfully.

"How's that?" He asked confused.

"She was close to the one-tail jinchuriki when she lived in Suna. I've noticed how she easily lets things go. If we capture the jinchuriki and remove his tailed beast…" I trailed off.

"His death will trigger it." Kazuma finished. "But won't she be angry with you?" He asked

"She won't know that it was the Akatsuki's doing. I'll have Pein send Deidara and Sasori, then after it's all finished your father and I will alter everyone's memories of the event." I told him.

He nodded in agreement, then remembered something. "By the way, I'd keep Zetsu on watch down this hall tonight." He said awkwardly. "Haru stayed behind to take care of Kimiko until she feels better, but…" He trailed of embarrassed by his assumption of his friends' intentions.

I chuckled. "Don't worry, I doubt anything will happen yet." I said. "Besides, I've had him down this hall since she arrived." He laughed a little, then headed for the door.

When he had gone, I called for Zetsu through our minds. When he had appeared I asked him if he had heard anything from them.

**"No. She did tell him her little secret though."**

"She only told him her name. She told him she couldn't tell about you yet."

**"She told him he'd find out in a year or so, though."**

"She hasn't broken any rules; I never told her she couldn't tell him her name sooner, if she thought he would accept it." I replied. "How did he react?"

**"He seemed slightly bothered by the name 'Uchiha'."**

"He got over it quickly though. He told her he was only worried about what his brother would say."

"So, he's completely OK with this?" I asked him.

He nodded in agreement, so I dismissed him after telling him to keep a close eye on the two of them. At least I wouldn't have to worry about her heart getting broken over love, just over the death of a friend. _Man, being the leader of the Akatsuki _and _a father, is really hard; I'm really going to hate seeing my daughter upset after she finds out about Gaara's death._ I thought to myself, as I prepared to go to sleep.

AN: I know it's a really short chapter, but I started another one that's based on Red vs. Blue, though I'll probably wait to put it up until after I've written a few chapters.

To my readers, I need a little help in the love story part; I know it's sad, but I've lived seventeen years and have never dated –I asked my cousin for help but then we remembered, neither has she. The problem is most of the guys at our schools, are all either jerks or taken; we've agreed that college should weed out most of the stupid ones, so that we can pick the cream of the crop –ROTC boys; they know how to take care of themselves, and they know their place, not to mention RESPECT, which is kinda hard to get from a guy these days. Anyway, writer's block sucks; I already know what's going to happen later, I just don't know what'll happen right now.

Please review! :D


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

AN: Kishimoto owns all except my characters-Kiminari, and Kimiko, and later characters. Also I'm probably not going to follow any of the story line except a few small things. I may take the characters outside their natural personalities, but that's because it's my story, and it'll add to it. Another thing: since I'm not following the story line of the series- All main (good) characters will start out the same age as they should be, but even though the Akatsuki will be around, the war will not happen until later; if it does at all. Again this is because I'm making up my own story line; it gets kinda boring when nothing has changed and, you readers would be able to guess what was going to happen all the time. So, enjoy, and please comment, review, rate, whatever you wanna do. :D

P.S. I don't like to go into detail to tell you things most of you already know, and if you don't already know them, then it's best I don't tell you.

PPS Kazuma and Haru will be based on friends from school. Others will be mentioned later. :D

PPPS I'll try to keep Tobi's dialogue structure as close to the original as possible. And I'm not going to put any suffixes after Deidara's either; it's really not that noticeable in the anime, and it takes a lot of time.

Kimiko's P.O.V.

It had been a little over a year since my little fainting spell- I would be seventeen in about a month. Kazuma said that he had told my father, but he hadn't come to check on me until the next morning- luckily Haru had already left. We were sitting outside enjoying the fresh summer air, trying to decide when to go shopping for clothes for the summer festival that would be held in a small nearby village, two weeks from now.

"Honestly, I don't see why we can't just wear something nice and _cheap_; Kakuzu would beat our asses if he found out we'd spent too much." Kazuma complained.

"Nah, I can get Leader-sama to take care of that for us." I replied, saying Leader instead of Pein, meaning I would ask my father to have Pein handle the problem.

"How could you do that?" Haru asked, confused. "I mean, it's not like he'd care what Kakuzu said or did to us."

"Oh, believe me, I have my ways. Besides if it comes down to him disagreeing with me, then I could invite Konan; he'd never argue with her. She'd even make him go to the festival." We all laughed at the idea of Pein without his piercings, in nice formal attire.

As we sat there, joking about Pein being dressed up, 'Tobi' came running toward us, screaming his head off.

"Maiko-chan! Leader-sama wants to talk to you and your friends." He said overly cheerful. I would never get over the fact that Kazuma's dad, Obito, had to put up this charade every day. Although the two of us occasionally joked about it, the screaming still annoyed us to no end.

"Sure." I said, nodding my head just slightly enough for him to see. The three of us stood, and followed the masked man back into the hideout.

Once we got to Pein's office, 'Tobi' went to stand in the back, right corner.

"Have a seat you three." Pein said calmly. "First, Haru. I understand that you were told that Maiko is really Kimiko Uchiha a while ago, correct." Haru nodded in agreement. "Well, it is time that you should know that Kazuma is of the Uchiha blood-line as well. He, when he first arrived here, was told never to reveal this unless given permission." Again, Haru nodded, not seeming to mind the sudden news.

"Sorry." Kazuma mumbled. "Kimiko knew, but she was told by Leader-sama." He and I shared a small smile with each other, then with Haru, who returned the favor.

"It's OK. I understand."

"Well, that's that. You two might want to stay to hear what I have to tell Kimiko; she may need the two of you later." They nodded; all three of us were confused.

"Last Monday, we received intel. that Gaara, the Kazekage, and jinchuriki of Suna was killed." He stated simply. My heart sank; he had been the first person to see me as me.

"How exactly does this affect her?" Haru asked.

"Kimi was raised in Suna until Kakashi Hatake brought her to Konoha." Kazuma answered. "We weren't allowed to tell that either." He added, Haru looking to Pein, who nodded in agreement. "Gaara was the one who was charged with keeping her out of trouble and raising her. She accidentally activated her Sharingan one day when an older teen attacked her. Until then they hadn't allowed her to train as a ninja. That's when she left; she was only six, according to the records, and info we have." Kazuma finished.

I had barely been listening. I couldn't believe that he was dead. I could feel anger building up inside me, and as I had not sparred recently, I knew there was a lot of energy behind it. "Who did it?" I asked looking Pein directly in the eyes.

I had already activated my third level Sharingan, prepared to go in search of this murderer, so when I looked up I saw him shift his eyes to avoid direct contact. "That's something we haven't figured out yet." He replied, his voice quieter.

I stood and, calm as ever, walked out of the room. I knew that my two friends were following me, but made no move to stop them; I could also sense that Haru was a little on edge, probably because he was near two very powerful Uchihas, both with third level Sharingan activated.

I continued out of the hideout and back into the small clearing we'd been in earlier. As I entered it, I tried to calm myself down, starting with deactivating my Sharingan, and taking deep breathes. When I had succeeded in that and in lowering my heart-rate, I just continued to stand there. I could sense Haru start toward me, but noticed that Kazuma stopped him. Finally, Kazuma approached me and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. "I'm really sorry, Kimi." He said, soberly.

That did it. I fell to the ground crying. I'd never lost anyone close to me, and I knew that I had too much energy built up. I sent out some chakra to mentally push Kazuma and Haru away. As they exited the clearing, I let out the scream that had been building up. "WHY!" I screamed to the forest in front of me.

I released all of the energy that had been building up, into the surrounding area; sending out the feelings of sadness. I noticed that some of the grass in the area began to shrivel and die from so much chakra being sent through it. Up until then I had kept my eyes shut as I'd cried, but when I saw the grass, I also noticed something else; I had reactivated my Sharingan, but this time it was different. My father had told me about how the Mangekyou worked, and how it felt different from the others, and also how each user's was unique in look and strength. I also knew one other fact; it could only be gained by the loss of someone dear to you.

When I realized this, I broke into a fresh wave of sobs. As I began to get more control over my chakra, I noticed that my two friends were still standing nearby. I could sense that Kazuma felt understanding for my situation, but that Haru was filled with sadness for me, and anger for whoever did this to me. I sent out a feeling of apology to them, and noticed that they both began to make their way back across the meadow, to me. Kazuma stopped a few steps away, but Haru sat down next to me and pulled me into his body, allowing me to cry into his shirt.

When he realized that it was going to be a while before I calmed down completely, he stood, picking me up as well, and the three of us returned to the hideout again. Haru stayed with me in my room, until Deidara said he needed to talk to him. When he left, Kazuma remained and soon after, my father came in to comfort me. There were very few things going on in my mind at the time, but, next to my sadness, was the feeling of extreme appreciation for having a family like this; one that loved and cared for me, no matter what.

Please review! :D


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

AN: Kishimoto owns all except my characters-Kiminari, and Kimiko, and later characters. Also I'm probably not going to follow any of the story line except a few small things. I may take the characters outside their natural personalities, but that's because it's my story, and it'll add to it. Another thing: since I'm not following the story line of the series- All main (good) characters will start out the same age as they should be, but even though the Akatsuki will be around, the war will not happen until later; if it does at all. Again this is because I'm making up my own story line; it gets kinda boring when nothing has changed and, you readers would be able to guess what was going to happen all the time. So, enjoy, and please comment, review, rate, whatever you wanna do. :D

P.S. I don't like to go into detail to tell you things most of you already know, and if you don't already know them, then it's best I don't tell you.

Madara's P.O.V.

I'd expected my daughter to be very upset, but couldn't have expected it to last any longer. She stayed in her room for three days, refusing to eat, drink, or even move aside from the two trips she made to the restroom. In that time, she also refused to say anything; even Hidan, who could always get a reaction –either a laugh or a punch- out of her, had failed in his attempts.

By the start of the fourth day, I'd decided that if she didn't get up soon I would have to use a little bit of force; I sure wasn't going to let her get ill over this. I went into her room around noon and found her the same as always: eyes staring into space, still lying in the same spot where Haru had left her. (I was, in a way glad she'd chosen him. He was a good kid; and an excellent fighter too.)

I knelt down beside her bed and waved my hand across her face. I could tell she was in a sort of trance, because when I did so, I saw absolutely no movement or reaction in her pupils. At that, I decided to go through with my plan.

I activated my Sharingan and looked directly into her eyes, casting a genjutsu on her as lightly as I could. Finally, her face showed the slightest change; recognition. I knew I had gotten her attention, but I remained as I was. Through the genjutsu, I told her what she needed to do.

"You're going to have to get up sometime, Kimiko." I said.

"Why?" She questioned.

"Because I said. I know your upset, but there's nothing you can do about the Jinchuriki, Gaara's, death."

Finally she looked at me, so I released the genjutsu to talk to her normally.

Kimiko's P.O.V.

I'd figured he'd try something eventually, but a genjutsu was just cheating. If I wanted to lay like this for the rest of my life, that was my choice.

"You're going to have to get up sometime, Kimiko." My father said gently, but with a serious tone.

"Why?" I said simply, but a little grouchy.

"Because I said." He responded, in a semi-joking, semi-smart ass way. "I know your upset, but there's nothing you can do about the Jinchuriki, Gaara's, death."

I looked up at him, to let him know he could release the genjutsu without me going numb again.

"Dad, before I moved to Konoha, Gaara was the only person who was willing to accept me as who I was. Maybe it's just a thing with Jinchuriki or something, but they seem to be more understanding and accepting than most people." I said.

"When I got to Konoha, I was just an outsider to most people, but Kakashi's team ended up trusting me, even when they found out about my heritage; that was because of Naruto. When his team began to trust me, Konohamaru's followed in suit; again led by Naruto. After that the whole village began to trust me."

I continued. "They have a way of finding the best part of a person and bringing it into light for the rest of their village. If _they_ hadn't found me, I'd probably be in the bingo books now, listed as a defect or something." I laughed. "If they knew I was here anyway. Kinda ironic huh?"

My father had sat silently while I'd talked, but now it was his turn. "Kimi, when I was your age, I'd seen many of my friends die, some even right in front of me. I'd thought that life could never get worse, but when my brother died, I went as deep into anger and depression as one could get."

He paused. "Did Kakashi never tell you about our family's curse?"

"Touched it, but not really."

"Well, this is that curse." He said. "Pain and suffering. You have to fight it. Things can always, and usually will, get worse at some point in your life. You have to learn how to move on. They did tell you why Sasuke left, right?" I nodded.

"Well, that's the same thing. He was so angry at Itachi that the revenge he craved drove him to such lengths that he is where he is now." He placed a hand on my shoulder and looked directly at me; onyx eyes meeting blue. "I've already lost your mother. Please don't make me lose you." I leaned in and hugged him tightly. As expected, he tensed up in response to the action, but after a moment he hugged me back like no one had before.

What happened next is the biggest surprise I've ever received, and is something that will always stay with me. "I love you Kimiko." He said, still holding me in a fatherly embrace.

My eyes widened a little, and a few tears escaped them. "I love you too, Dad." I said hugging him even tighter. We stayed like that for a few more moments, then let go.

When he pulled away from me, he looked into my eyes again and said, "When you feel like it, come to my room. I need to talk to you about the mess you made in the clearing." I was a little confused, but nodded. _Oh yeah, I remember. The grass. _"But clean up first. You're starting to smell." He added jokingly.

After I'd finally decided to get up and shower, I went down the hall to my dad's room and knocked on the wall three times. As soon as the door opened a tad, I jumped in and quickly pulled it closed.

"So, about that mess." I said smiling a little.

He smirked back. "Well, you blackened the grass throughout a circle with a radius of about four feet." He stated.

"Really!? How?" I asked.

Well, according to the records we took from Konoha, you seemingly have a second kekei genkei that is tied to your optical kekei genkei." I nodded. "Well, I've studied the charts, and I don't believe that's the case. Whether it's a kekei genkei or not, is still uncertain. However, I have come to the conclusion that it is triggered by and uses emotions."

I nodded again. "I think I know what you mean. Lady Tsunade and I talked about this a few times. Once she took me to the Valley of End, and I already had a small theory about this, so I put thought and feelings into your statue." I laughed a little at the memory.

"Obito actually told me about that. That happened shortly after he discovered you in Konoha, and before he told me about you." My father said. _Hm._

I smiled and nodded, "Did it work?"

"Very much so." He answered.

"Yes! That means that even though I don't have perfect control over it, I still understand how to use it." I though aloud. "I've used it knowingly several times actually. That's how I told Haru and Kazuma I had calmed down enough for them to come to me the other day." I lowered my head at the memory.

"Well, obviously, you can not only use this as a communication device, but as a weapon. The chakra you released into the grass was not just plain chakra, but filled with anger, and sadness. I think we should test our theories, don't you?" I nodded in agreement.


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

AN: Kishimoto owns all except my characters-Kiminari, and Kimiko, and later characters. Also I'm probably not going to follow any of the story line except a few small things. I may take the characters outside their natural personalities, but that's because it's my story, and it'll add to it. Another thing: since I'm not following the story line of the series- All main (good) characters will start out the same age as they should be, but even though the Akatsuki will be around, the war will not happen until later; if it does at all. Again this is because I'm making up my own story line; it gets kinda boring when nothing has changed and, you readers would be able to guess what was going to happen all the time. So, enjoy, and please comment, review, rate, whatever you wanna do. :D

P.S. I don't like to go into detail to tell you things most of you already know, and if you don't already know them, then it's best I don't tell you.

Once I'd taken the time to get a bit to eat, Dad made sure that everyone, including Haru, was out of the base. Then the two of us went down to training ground C, the biggest. For a while he simply watched as I completed the exercises he'd requested of me. He seemed quite pleased, though he said nothing. I did my best since this was the first time he'd ever been able to watch me train.

After about an hour of that, I began to try to focus the chakra I'd used the other day into a small enough amount to use when targeting. It took me almost another hour, but I was successful in letting the emotion out in a controlled way; however I only tried to use excitement (because I was indeed excited about getting to try this). We determined that I could only easily use the emotion(s) that were readily at hand, therefore, I'd have to work on controlling them a little better, so as not to have a repetition of the past three days.

Once we'd decided I'd had enough of that for the day, my father suggested the two of us sparing.

"Is that a good idea?" I asked looking around us at the multitude of weapons, and especially at the stone walls. "I mean, what if we caused the base to cave in?"

For the first time, I got a genuine laugh out of my father. It took him a moment to regain himself, and when he did, he was still smiling. "I don't know whether to think of you as more like myself, or more like your mother. Sometimes it's like you're exactly half and half." I didn't understand exactly what he meant, but I did get the idea.

I laughed a little, then asked, "So how will we spar safely then?"

"Any weapon you can get to in this room, but no jutsu, summoning, kekei genkei, you know, civilian style." He smirked.

I returned the expression. "Does that mean absolutely no chakra?" He nodded. "Deal." I said as I released the chakra weights on my arms and legs. _None it is then_. I smirked at my own genius. He never even knew I had them. Thank you Sakura for chakra control and masking training. I mentally laughed.

I had heard many stories of how strong a fighter my father was, but I never guessed he'd be like this. Up until now, even Itachi had trouble keeping up with me, but even with my weights off for the first time since I'd gone to Konoha, it was me keeping up. Every move was matched perfectly. We'd started out hand-to-hand, but soon after he found a sword that was to his liking. I knew I'd have to get something, so I picked up the first one I saw that was the right size for me.

He continued to wear me down, not trying to injure me, just trying to see if he could pin me, or if he could cause me to run out of energy. After nearly two hours, I was beginning to get tired, and I knew I need to get the upper hand soon. I could see that his energy was beginning to fade as well, –though not nearly as much as my own- so I took advantage of this. I'd noticed how if his sword was close to cutting me, he'd hold back, so I purposely put myself in a position to where it would cut me, but not severely.

As the cold metal made contact with my right arm from behind and to the side, I slid, backwards, up its edge to where I there was enough of the blade for me to grab. Although my arm was bleeding quite profusely, I ignored it. As soon as I had a good grip on the blade of his sword, I pulled the edge toward my body about ninety degrees, using my arm as leverage in order to pull him around to my side. Once he was in range, I kicked sideways and up as hard as I could.

My foot made contact with his chin and he went back. I pulled the sword out of my arm and quickly moved to where I was standing over him with both swords pointed at his neck. He smirked and let out a chuckle. "You kick pretty hard, even without chakra, you know that?" I smiled. "You can have victory this time, alright. Hurry up and heal that before you bleed out." He said chuckling again.

As I tried my best to heal the wound -something I'd never been good at- he continued to talk. "Do you normally have chakra weights" I nodded. "Well, you are indeed clever. The thought didn't even cross my mind until you kicked me. I'm surprised I didn't notice you deactivating them; you must have studied under Tsunade."

"Her apprentice, actually" I responded, before returning my concentration back to my wound -I hadn't made much progress.

"To be honest, I've been wondering who you would fight more like: me or your mother. I've found again, though, that you're like a perfect mix. Your mother knew how to find a way around the rules too. However, I am proud that you've inherited most of my fighting techniques. You don't just move; you flow. That makes me very proud." I smiled at him for a moment before returning to my work. "However, it seems you should learn to heal better, especially if you're going to pull stunts like that." He said pointing to my arm.

"I've never been good at this stuff." I admitted. He nodded, taking my upper arm in one large, gloved hand and placing the other over the gash and healed it quickly. "Thanks." I said.

He nodded in response, then, "You'll have to work on that. I'll have Konan or Sasori to teach you." He said as he finished. "I've got some news for you too." He said out of the blue.

"What kind of news?" I asked, curious.

"Within the next two or three days, you, will be going to Konoha."

"What!? Why?" I asked, upset. Even though, I still missed the village, I'd finally been getting to know everyone really well, and I'd definitely gotten attached to my father.

"Konoha thinks the Akatsuki is behind Gaara's death. When they get here, you will pose as a hostage, so that they do not accuse you of working with us; which you weren't to begin with, so you really do know nothing." I was angry, but I did understand. It was all to keep me safe.

"What about Haru and Kazuma?" I asked.

"The deal was that you would return to Konoha with someone to marry. In this case you will have to find a way to get Haru into the village; Kazuma as well. It's pretty much up to you from here, Kimi." I looked at him confused.

"I plan to reveal myself to the rest of the world soon." I'd forgotten about that. _Why does he have to crave world domination in his spare time?_ "You'll have to help him understand. You'll also have to get Konoha to accept them in the war that's sure to follow, if you want them to stay."

"What about you, Dad?" I asked.

"Well, if I come out on top, then there's nothing for you to worry about. However, should I fail, you will lead our clan back into prosperity and see that it is known as the strong and wise clan it is." I nodded. "Just make sure that you try to rid it of the curse." He added with a small smile.

I smiled back. "You know, as much as I want everything to go on in the world as it is, I still don't want to see you hurt." I said.

"I know, but I've been around long enough." He stated simply. _I suppose this is the first real test to see if I can control my emotion._ I thought to myself.


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

AN: Kishimoto owns all except my characters-Kiminari, and Kimiko, and later characters. Also I'm probably not going to follow any of the story line except a few small things. I may take the characters outside their natural personalities, but that's because it's my story, and it'll add to it. Another thing: since I'm not following the story line of the series- All main (good) characters will start out the same age as they should be, but even though the Akatsuki will be around, the war will not happen until later; if it does at all. Again this is because I'm making up my own story line; it gets kinda boring when nothing has changed and, you readers would be able to guess what was going to happen all the time. So, enjoy, and please comment, review, rate, whatever you wanna do. :D

P.S. I don't like to go into detail to tell you things most of you already know, and if you don't already know them, then it's best I don't tell you.

Sure enough, three days later, Obito came to find me saying that I needed to follow him, and that a large group from Konoha was here. He explained to me that Kazuma was already aware of what he was to do, and what he was to tell Haru once they were safely away from here. When he was done explaining, he told me he was going to lock me in my room with a seal so it would appear that I was there against my will. He knew I would play the part.

Before he left, I gave him a quick hug. "By Tobi." I said with a small giggle. "Be sure to give that to Kazuma and Haru for me." He gave me a quick hug back, then left. I was really going to miss this crazy dysfunctional group I'd started to consider family.

I was pacing in my room about fifteen minutes after he'd left, listening to the noises of the fights happening outside, hoping no one from either side was getting hurt. Finally, I heard someone coming down the hallway.

Sure enough, they sensed the seal, and broke it. As they barged in, I recognized the person as Neji Hyuuga. We'd never talked much when I was in Konoha, but I knew he would know who I was. He saw me standing there with a look on my face that, although was really one of worry, probably looked to him like one of fear.

"Uchiha Kimiko?" He asked. I nodded. "Are you alright?" He asked.

I answered honestly. "I'm scared." And I was: for my family; both sides.

At that he walked across the small room towards me. I backed off a little, wondering what he might do. He paused and said. "Come with me, Kimiko. It's not safe here right now. We'll take you back home." I nodded slightly and allowed him to lead me gently from the room.

We left the cave, and I noticed that Sakura had done a good deal of damage to parts of it on the outside. When we finally got outside, I pretended like the bright light hurt my eyes –it did a little, so it wasn't hard. When I'd finally regained my vision, I saw Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura, Ten Ten, Lee, and Guy, all standing, looking at me in shock.

"Kimiko?" Kakashi asked first. I nodded again. He took a few steps towards me and I pressed myself closer into Neji –I will have to admit, I was a little nervous around them. "Kimiko, you do remember us, right?" He asked. I pretended to look at each of them. They had hardly changed at all.

"Yeah." I said, my voice playing it up perfectly, as I had been trying not to cry ever since Obito had left. As a look of relief flashed across everyone's face, I decided to just let it go; I broke down. Seeing this, Neji allowed Kakashi to pick me up and carry me as they made their way back to Konoha. It had been a long time since I'd seen the man who had once been a father-figure to me, and I was perfectly content in simply crying into his shoulder; letting out all the anger and sadness I felt at having to leave the place I'd learned to call a real home. Sure, Konoha had been great, but not even Kakashi had loved me like my father had-he'd been more like Obito, like an uncle of sorts- and no one else had accepted me as easily as the Akatsuki had-they were pretty open to just about anyone who could hold their own. I was really going to miss them. I just hoped that Haru and Kazuma made it out alright.

We traveled for probably four hours before it got dark. I knew from memory of the surrounding area, that we were only five miles or so outside the village. I knew what was coming next, and I was really, really scared now.

They had not tried to confine me in anyway, nor tried to block me in, so I knew they trusted me to an extent. However I had noticed that Sakura had slipped some chakra draining pills into the food they'd given me. They still remembered how strong I was; it wasn't enough to completely keep me from using it, but I wouldn't be able to do anything big for very long.

Kakashi approached me and sat down beside me. I looked up and me his eyes, giving him a small but grateful smile. "Was it the Akatsuki who took you?" I shook my head.

I decided to lie and say, "No, some big guy did. I never found out who he was. He got me with a poisoned dart, but when I woke up, he was dead. Some guy from the Akatsuki had killed him for a bounty." He nodded for me to continue. "I don't exactly know what they wanted with me; they never really said anything. I had to stay in my room most of the time, but every once in a while, they'd let me train with two other kids they kept there."

"What were their names?" He asked.

"One was Kazuma, and the other was Haru. The only thing I know about them is that they're both seventeen, and they were both hostages too. Kazuma was taken from a nearby village about the same time as me, and Haru was Deidara's brother. He told me about how Deidara had lost a bet with Itachi and was forced to join the Akatsuki; he said something about Haru, his adopted brother, and then they kidnapped him. Again around the same time as us. We guessed they were trying to start something, but they never did anything with us. We just had to stay in our rooms for what, almost three years?" I finished, adding up time on my hand, and having recalled my old friends was able to let a few more tears add to my story making it seem genuine.

Kakashi wrapped an arm around me and just sat like that until I had stopped crying. When I had, I looked up and said, "Is Gaara-sama really dead?" He looked at me shocked. "I overheard Itachi saying something about it, but is it true?" I had a look of longing in my eyes; longing for him to be alive.

He nodded and I allowed, yet again a few more tears, hugging him in the process. _Geez, if I cry much more, I'll run out of tears._ I thought to myself. He patted me on the back, and asked, "Did Itachi ever find out you were an Uchiha." I stiffened a little, then nodded. "That's why he told you about Gaara, then." I looked up to him confused. "To see if you had or would awaken your Sharingan." He clarified.

I gasped; my Mangekyou. He looked at me again. "Did you awaken it more?" He asked, clearly hoping I had not. I nodded, slowly. He gave me a sad sort of look, then said. "I'm sorry for the pain you suffered for it, but I think you'll be glad to know that, although he did die, a woman named Chiyo, was kind enough to swap her life for his." I was shocked. I'd heard about the possibility of that, but never thought anyone would ever try it.

"Is he OK now?" I asked, worried.

"Shocked, but OK, yes." He answered.

After a while, he finally decided to say what he knew he'd have to:

"Kimiko, I know it's going to be hard for you, but I need to interrogate you. If you'd rather not say things aloud, I can just use the Sharingan." He offered, and I nodded. "Whenever you're ready." He said, offering me time to mentally prepare myself. _And to hide certain thoughts._

I nodded. I had already experienced my father doing this once. The Sharingan could cause painful things when its user wanted to, but when used like this, though, it gave the receiver a very odd feeling, one similar to floating. I assumed it was because it felt like something was moving around in your brain. It was indeed odd though.

When he was done, he smiled through his mask, and, with a relieved look, turned to the others and said, "She's all clear." I smiled back at them but was soon knocked over by an overenthusiastic Naruto, who had decided I needed a hug. Well, at least _he_ was ready to go back to the old times.

AN: Don't forget about the drawing entries! If you would like, I'm starting a competition. Just send me a link in the reviews, or on private messaging of a drawing, sketch, or painting of your favorite characters from my stories. You may include characters that are from the actual universe, but all entries must include at least one of the stories OCs. I'll start the first drawing on March 1, but if you're just reading, don't worry. I plan to continue this for a while


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

AN: Kishimoto owns all except my characters-Kiminari, and Kimiko, and later characters. Also I'm probably not going to follow any of the story line except a few small things. I may take the characters outside their natural personalities, but that's because it's my story, and it'll add to it. Another thing: since I'm not following the story line of the series- All main (good) characters will start out the same age as they should be, but even though the Akatsuki will be around, the war will not happen until later; if it does at all. Again this is because I'm making up my own story line; it gets kinda boring when nothing has changed and, you readers would be able to guess what was going to happen all the time. So, enjoy, and please comment, review, rate, whatever you wanna do. :D

P.S. I don't like to go into detail to tell you things most of you already know, and if you don't already know them, then it's best I don't tell you.

After our quick meal and Kakashi's interrogation of me, he decided it would be safe to bring me on in tonight.

"You know, a lot of people have missed you. I'm glad we finally found you, and that you don't know anything." Lee said.

"I've really missed everyone too." I said smiling at him. "I'm glad you finally found me. I do miss my friends though. I wonder if they escaped."

"We did see some of the members escape with two other hostages. Do you think it was them?" Guy asked.

"I hope not, but as far as we knew we were the only three there; I hope there weren't any others." I responded, hanging my head.

Once we got into Konoha, Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura met up with Sai. I'd never really liked the guy, he got on my nerves too much; however, it would be a lie to say I hadn't missed him while I was away, in fact, I was happy to see him; and to see he'd learned to become a bit more… _normal_.

"Kimiko, I see Kakashi finally found you." He said, greeting me.

"Yeah, some moron kidnapped her, then the Akatsuki killed him and took her." Naruto said.

"Well, I'm happy to see you in good health. We've really missed you." He said smiling his still awkward smile, to which I gladly returned my own.

When we'd finally arrived at Lady Tsunade's office, Kakashi went in first. I waited outside with the others, nervously, while he explained the conditions in which I was found, and told her that he'd already proven my innocence. After about ten minutes, he called us in.

"Welcome back, Kimiko." Lady Tsunade said with a warm smile. I smiled back, bowing. "Kakashi has told me that he has already searched your mind with his Sharingan, so I would not have to send you to Ibiki." I stiffened at the name. Even though I knew, without a doubt, I could easily overpower him, I still didn't care for the thought of even being in the same room as that phsyco; even Hidan was nicer than him while trying to get information out of someone.

Kakashi placed a comforting hand on my shoulder when he noticed my reaction, and Lady Tsunade smiled apologetically at him. Then he spoke to me.

"Would you like me to walk you back to the compound?"

I shook my head. I would have loved to have gone straight back to a place where I could feel something of my father's presence, but I thought to myself: 'If I'd really been kidnapped, wouldn't I be scared to go back for a while?' "No, not yet." Perfect, my voice shook a little. "Can I stay with you, Kakashi. Just for a little?"

He smiled through his mask. "Sure. I've missed seeing my little girl." Great, he still wanted to play dad. I smiled and let out a small giggle. He leaned in and whispered, jokingly, "As long as you can still cook." I laughed softly at that.

"Yes, I think I can still cook." I smiled with everyone as we all shared a laugh. Now I just needed to wait on my other family to show up.

Once Kakashi and I had arrived at his old apartment, he allowed me to take a shower first. Since all the clothes I had left in Konoha were down at my old house, he lent me a pair of sweats he'd outgrown, and a t-shirt. I was grateful he still saw me as a daughter of sorts, but I felt bad for him since he had no idea I'd actually left with my real dad.

By the time he'd finished his own shower, I was almost done with dinner; an old favorite of ours: Chicken, rice, stir-fry, and dango.

"You know, I can't even tell you how much I've missed eating decent food. I mean, you only brought some over every other night or so when you lived on your own, but when you went missing, I thought I'd die." I had to laugh at that.

"Oh, yeah. You're all skin and bones." I joked, still laughing at his helplessness.

Once we'd finished eating, or in his case gorging himself, he said something I'd hoped he wouldn't:

"I know you hid things about the past few years. I could feel the blank spaces." I nodded, looking away. "If it's something personal, I promise I won't tell anyone." He said, trying to get something out of me.

"Well, I wasn't completely unhappy there." I said to start off. He looked confused, so I went on. "There was a reason why they took me from the first man. Our clan has another member, aside from the ones you already know about. Like me, they took him from his home; they wanted Itachi to train him properly so he could restart the clan. He'd only been there three months before they found me. They'd been looking for someone 'worthy' enough to help him restart." I fake grimaced while making air quotes. "I was an easy pick up, so they tried to get us together. Unfortunately, they found out I was also an Uchiha, so they found someone else for him, and someone for me. I never met the girl, but since I'd already met him, they allowed us to see one another on occasions. Haru was the one they kidnapped for me. He was Deidara's little brother; another bet he lost. He must be worse than Lady Tsunade." We both laughed at that. "Well, we ended up really liking each other, so I got to see him on almost a daily basis." I stopped after that. I missed them both so much.

"So they didn't treat you badly?" Kakashi asked. "They didn't make you do anything?"

"No, the only thing they made me do was stay in my room most of the time. For the first year, at least. After that, since we hadn't made any trouble, or escape attempts-well, we thought about it, but we had no idea where we were or how to get out-, they allowed us to train freely, and under mild supervision. We could also move throughout most of the base as well. We took this opportunity to try to get information out of the members, but, although they were nice enough to us, they didn't budge. I never really got to know any of them particularly well, not even Deidara; after Haru found out about his adopted brother, he turned completely away from him. However, they were helpful at times." Kakashi raised an eyebrow in question.

"Well, Kakuzu felt bad, so once a month, he'd take orders for anything we might need or want, and he'd buy it from a nearby village. I didn't make much progress, but Sasori tried to help me with healing techniques."

"Was he any better help than Sakura?" Kakashi asked jokingly.

"No, he gave up after an hour and sent me back to my room." I laughed at the memory. He'd given up and stalked back to his room, knocking Deidara out in the process. I wished so badly that I could tell Kakashi the truth, but I couldn't. "Watch out for Tobi though-guy with the mask-, that idiot was the only one who could manage to get permission to train us. He may seem stupid, but _don't_ underestimate him." I said warning Kakashi; I could afford to give hints like that to Konoha, because Obito could definitely take care of himself.

I paused for a moment, then spoke again. "I really am glad to be back, but I really hope we can find Kazuma. And Haru;" Then shyly, "I really do love him." I forced a few more tears out. Even though I was upset, I still wasn't used to crying this much; it was starting to make my face hurt.

"We'll try. I promise."


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

AN: Kishimoto owns all except my characters-Kiminari, and Kimiko, and later characters. Also I'm probably not going to follow any of the story line except a few small things. I may take the characters outside their natural personalities, but that's because it's my story, and it'll add to it. Another thing: since I'm not following the story line of the series- All main (good) characters will start out the same age as they should be, but even though the Akatsuki will be around, the war will not happen until later; if it does at all. Again this is because I'm making up my own story line; it gets kinda boring when nothing has changed and, you readers would be able to guess what was going to happen all the time. So, enjoy, and please comment, review, rate, whatever you wanna do. :D

P.S. I don't like to go into detail to tell you things most of you already know, and if you don't already know them, then it's best I don't tell you.

Over the next few weeks, I gradually regained most of my old life back. Since everyone was concerned about me getting kidnapped again, I wasn't allowed to leave the village until they found out what the Akatsuki was up to, although I assured them I wasn't too keen on going anywhere alone anyway. I had, however, begged to go see how Gaara was, but Lady Tsunade said to give him a while to get over his most recent shock. I agreed to this, but made her promise that I'd get to see him sometime.

Aside from trying to get me to live on my own again, my old friends constantly trained with me. Kakashi wanted to see if I'd lost anything, or if they'd taught me anything, so he invited me to spar with him one day.

"You know, I beat you when I was six, you knew how strong I was before I was taken, _and_ I've sparred with psyco s-ranked criminals for the past three years. This is going to be really fun to see you on your ass again, Kakashi." I said joking around with him, just like old times.

"Yeah, but you just said it yourself, you got kidnapped." He rubbed in my face.

"What can I say, he got in a lucky dart." I smiled. "It happens to the best."

With that he came at me. As he attacked, I simply dodged, remembering how my father had once told me it was a waste of energy to try to attack an opponent who would simply tire themselves out by missing you instead. Kakahsi caught onto this quickly, however and resorted to attacking with a kunai. As I continued to dodge, he began to get serious. Eventually I had to pull out one of my own in order to block his. After a little more of this, he decided to use a firestyle jutsu, which, since I'd studied so many jutsu, I was able to match with my own wind style, even without my Sharingan activated.

"Am I going to have to show my own first?" Kakashi asked. Knowing what he meant, I simply grinned. In response he activated his and leapt at me again. I had to resort to my kunai more often in order to block each of his blows, but he still couldn't get to me. _Thanks, Dad._ I thought, mentally smiling to myself.

"Come on, Kimiko. Do I have to beg you for it?" He whined, jokingly.

"You really want to see it?" I asked tauntingly. He nodded in response. I saw an opening in his movements and made a move, grabbing his wrist and flipping him over my own body, then pinning him to the ground with my kunai at his throat; looking directly into his sharingan. "Then find someone else, 'cause you're still no match." I gave him my signature clan smirk. We both laughed as he understood he'd been beaten again.

"I'll do that sometime, then." He took me up on the offer. "Something I'm curious about though, is: why would you look directly into my eyes if I was using the Sahringan?"

"Well, that's something Kazuma and I figured out." I answered. He seemed intrigued, so I went on. "I slipped up once and got caught in his genjutsu. I understood immediately what I'd done, so I beat him to his own torture. Instead of cowering, I simply ran into it. This choice somehow confused his genjutsu, since he had not been expecting it; so it failed."

"So as long as you can take the user by surprise, their genjutsu will fail? That's what you came up with?" He asked. I nodded. "Well, you're just a smart as I remembered, Kimiko. That's pretty much it." He smiled at me, and I returned the favor. "I would like to see how you are with controlling your mangekyou sometime; if that's OK with you." I smiled and nodded.

"To be honest, I'm actually kinda curious as to what it looks like." I said, honestly. "I've never thought to look at it through a mirror or anything like that."

Another two weeks past and Gaara actually came to visit _me_. It was a really nice reunion. He was very proud of how far I'd come since he'd last seen me. However, our little party was short-lived. A member of the Anbu was sent by Lady Tsunade to tell me I was needed in her office, so I left quickly.

"I think we may have run across the two people you've been hoping to see." She said, but something about her voice said something was wrong.

"What happened to them?" I asked.

She immediately noticed my worry. "They weren't classified as Akatsuki members, but they had on cloaks. Ibiki took them. If you hurry, you can get Kakashi to do the interrogation instead." She offered, and soon after, I was running faster than I had in a long time; I even ditched the chakra weights.

"Kakashi!" I screamed as soon as I entered his apartment.

"What happened?" He came around the corner to see what I was yelling about.

"You have to come with me quick. Lady Tsunade thinks we've found Kazuma and Haru, but Ibiki's got them." At that, we both took off.

"Slow down a little, Kimiko." Kakashi complained.

"No, you hurry up; lazy." I shot back.

When we finally arrived at the interrogation room they were in, I paused long enough to collect myself and my chakra, then I pushed open the door and walked in. Ibiki turned to face me, sneering. I looked at the two men he had restrained in chairs in front of him and recognized them as my two friends. I also noticed how much damage he'd already managed to do; Kazuma looked OK, but Haru looked like he would die any minute.

I was furious. I made my way to where the two were sitting and knelt down to check Haru's pulse; it was there, but not so good. With all the aire and power every Uchiha held, I stood, activated my Mangekyou and turned to face Ibiki.

"I told you she was bad news, Kakashi. But no, you had to be the one to determine whether she was safe or not." Ibiki said to Kakashi who had taken his place leaning against the door frame.

"Oh yeah, she's bad news alright; especially to you, now that you've hurt her boyfriend. Not to mention the fact that you've accused them of being Akatsuki members."Kakashi said lazily. Ibiki looked furious. I made my way across the room towards him and as I did so, backed him up into a chair.

He stopped when he felt it, but I spoke to him then. "Sit." When he did not, I placed a hand on each of his shoulders and forced him to. "Kakashi-sensei, could you please prove their innocence? I'll be over in a moment to let Kazuma know it's alright to let you snoop." I sensed his head move in a nodding motion.

"Now, Ibiki-sama." I said, allowing the words to drip with sarcasm as I placed a hand under his chin forcing him to look directly at me. "We can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way." I mocked his usual words as he shut his eyes, refusing to make eye contact with me. "Guess it's the hard way then."

I gently lifted one of his eyelids so that he didn't have a choice, then I caught him in a strong but gentle genjutsu. "How long have you known they were innocent?" I questioned him.

"An hour after I got them." Came his forced response.

"How long ago did you get them?"

"About four hours ago."

"And were they wearing those Akatsuki cloaks?"

"Not exactly."

"That's what I thought. I've seen them enough to know what the originals look like." I smirked and let out a short laugh. "Maybe they'll give me your job, Ibiki. It seems as though I get the job done much more quickly and efficiently; no mess, no pain, and no chances of the interrogated making a slip." At that I released the genjutsu, deactivated my Sharingan, and made my way back to Kakashi who was just finishing with Haru.

"He's too unconscious to get anything out of him." Kakashi stated. I nodded, then went over to Kazuma. I had to slap his face a few times, but he quickly woke up.

He looked at me carefully. "Kimi?" I smiled and nodded. "How'd you get here?" Great, he already knew the story.

"This is where I used to live. When the group from Konoha destroyed the Akatsuki base, they found me and brought me back home. How did you guys get out?"

"Well, I'm not sure who it was, but some of the members took us when they left. We got lucky though and they were attacked. We made it a good distance, but Haru got hit pretty hard; I think he may have some broken ribs. We finally made it to this place, but this guy" he jerked his chin in Ibiki's direction. "didn't believe us when we told him what happened. He brought us here."

"What's with the homemade cloaks." I asked snickering.

"I've been wondering the same thing. I guess it's to back up his own story."

"Yeah." I agreed. "He likes to be right, way too much." I smiled. This whole time I'd been sending waves of chakra toward him to let him know my version of the story. He had let his feelings let me know that he understood, and he would hide all the same parts of the story. Since I knew he'd had more practice and had always been better at doing so, I was confident Kakashi wouldn't be able to sense any blank spots in his memories.

"I still need Kakashi to look through your memories of while you were there. Is that OK?"

"Why can't you just do it?" He questioned a bit childishly.

"Because, we have to be unbiased." I knew what he was worried about. He and his girlfriend Kishi had gotten a little physical one night when she came to visit. Haru and I had to go to the training ground to get away from all the noise. Sure there was a stone wall between each of the rooms, but we could still hear them.

I turned to face Kakashi and said in a whisper, "He doesn't want you to know about his sex life." I smirked and we shared a short laugh. When I turned back to Kazuma I gave him a short wink which was answered with a glare holding the unspoken words: 'I'll find a way to get back at you eventually.'

"OK, Kazuma. Are you ready?" Kakashi asked kindly. Kazuma nodded and Kakashi began.

When he'd finished searching Kazuma's mind, he stood and smiled at me. "Clear." He said happily. "Now we just have to get this one well enough to interrogate.

I had been trying my best to heal Haru's wounds, but was failing more than normal. In fact they seemed to get increasingly worse. "I don't know what's wrong." I said as Kazuma made his way over to us, having been released by Kakashi. "Nothing I do is helping. He's only gotten worse." Suddenly it clicked in my mind.

I stood and turned making my way back over to Ibiki. I grabbed his vest and pulled him up to face me again. "What did you do to him?" I questioned him angrily, giving him a look that could have beat any other Uchiha's -besides perhaps my father's- by ten times.

"I tried questioning them about you, but they wouldn't talk." He gave in easily this time, defeated. "I carried out my first threat."

"And that was?" I prodded him to continue.

"Poison. It shouldn't have affected him this much though. It's only meant to slow them down mentally so I can get a response out easier. It's so they don't think as much. Maybe it was made wrong." He said, clearly scared now, as I had been pulsing my chakra through him so that he was aware of how angry I was.

"Find the bottle." I commanded, allowing him to stand. He did and brought it back to Kakashi and me. I had studied enough with Sasori to be able to sense, and even sometimes smell, the difference in several poisons. This was not one for interrogation. This was to slowly immobilize and kill the victim. I turned to look at Haru. "How long has it been in his system?" I asked Ibiki.

"Not too long. About fifteen minutes before you arrived."

I did the mental math after checking my watch. Forty-three minutes. Good, it was too late for an antidote, but we still had time to extract it from him. "Kakashi, we need to get him to the hospital." I stated urgently. He nodded, placing Haru over his shoulder. I turned back to Ibiki. "You got lucky this time, but if I ever find out you've hurt someone close to me again, I will personally lock you in the worst genjutsu I can imagine, and leave you like that until the day you die." I threatened before going to help Kazuma and following Kakashi out the door as Ibiki sunk back into a chair.


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

AN: Kishimoto owns all except my characters-Kiminari, and Kimiko, and later characters. Also I'm probably not going to follow any of the story line except a few small things. I may take the characters outside their natural personalities, but that's because it's my story, and it'll add to it. Another thing: since I'm not following the story line of the series- All main (good) characters will start out the same age as they should be, but even though the Akatsuki will be around, the war will not happen until later; if it does at all. Again this is because I'm making up my own story line; it gets kinda boring when nothing has changed and, you readers would be able to guess what was going to happen all the time. So, enjoy, and please comment, review, rate, whatever you wanna do. :D

P.S. I don't like to go into detail to tell you things most of you already know, and if you don't already know them, then it's best I don't tell you.

When we had finally made our way to the hospital, I ushered Kazuma into a small room with four beds, then assisted Kakashi in placing Haru on one of the other beds. While we were doing this, I was sending out chakra, searching for Sakura or someone else of high standings. As soon as I was sure Haru was in a safe position, I told Kakashi where I had found Sakura and Lady Tsunade together helping a young medic, and sent him off to get them.

After he left I asked Kazuma to keep an eye on Haru's condition while I went across the hall to get the things we'd need to bandage his wounds, although they were very minor. I had just returned to the room when the hokage and her apprentice came in.

"Lady Hokage." I greeted nodding a quick bow. "We don't have time for an antidote to work; I need your help to extract it." She nodded and had Sakura find the source of the injection while she talked to me.

"These aren't Akatsuki are they?"

I shook my head. "No, the cloaks must have been Ibiki's pass-time; I would have known if they were real." She nodded, accepting what I said easily. "Kazuma will be fine once we've healed his wounds. Ibiki broke his wrist, and I think he may have a torn muscle in his right leg, but I'm not sure where yet." I said, gesturing in his direction.

"We'll worry about him in a bit." She said tossing him a bottle of pain killer. He nodded in thanks. "Right now we need to worry about..?"

"Haru." I said, to answer her. She must have seen the way I looked at him, because she placed a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"Well, Sakura. Did you find it?" Sakura nodded, then pointed out the place we were to extract it. Once Lady Tsunade was beside her, she left. In an exasperated tone, Tsunade said to me, "I don't know what her problem is, but I guess you're going to have to help me with this." I gulped. _I hope I don't mess this up._

She had me use my chakra to hold Haru down, saying, "He'll probably start to wake up once I get most of it out. That'll be a good sign, but he may make it spread faster if he struggles too much." I nodded climbing up to sit on his stomach. Lady Tsunady looked at me questioningly.

"He's stronger than he looks, and has quite a low pain tolerance." I chuckled a little at the last part. I tucked his left arm between his body and my leg, but left the right out so she could extract the poison, using only my left knee to hold it down near his shoulder. Then I wrapped my right foot over his legs behind me, focused my chakra to keep him pinned to the bed, and gave her a quick nod; she began.

At first, it was simple enough, but when he finally began to wake up, it was worse than I'd imagined. I had to use my hand and chakra to keep his mouth closed, so he wouldn't scream, but eventually I needed two hands to hold him down. _Haru, if you're OK after this, I'm going to give you the worst time about your pain tolerance; and there's no telling how much Kazuma will have to say. I chuckled mentally._

"Kakashi!" I called. He came over to stand on my right. "Open one of his eyes for me. I can get him to calm down; he won't even care at this point." He nodded and lifted one of Haru's eyelids as I activated my Sharingan. Haru still seemed to be incoherent, as his eyes didn't move. Once I had him in a genjutsu, I mentally whispered soothing things to help him calm down; I was successful.

Haru's P.O.V.

All I could feel was pain. I had tried to tell Kazuma that we should have just snuck in, but he insisted on playing full innocence. I knew his leg was injured -though I didn't yet know how bad- and I, apparently, had a poison equivalent to one of sasori's being forcibly extracted. I knew I should be thankful to whoever was doing this, otherwise I'd be dead, but all I could focus on was…

The next thing I knew, I was under a genjutsu by the Sharingan. I'd trained enough with Kazuma and Kimi to know how to get out, but when I heard a familiar voice I stopped fighting it. I listened for a moment.

"It's OK, Haru. I'm here with you. Stop fighting, you'll only make yourself worse; you're in really bad shape." I recognized that voice; I stopped. I couldn't feel any more pain, so I tried to focus on placing who it belonged to. Then it clicked: my Kimi. She must have heard about us and come to find us. _Thank you so much, Kimi. You've just earned yourself a big surprise as soon as I wake up. _I thought, relaxing completely and just enjoying the sound of her talking to me.

After a few more minutes, she released the genjutsu and I could once again feel pain, though barely any. I could feel something heavy on top of my stomach. "Did you get it all out?" I heard Kimiko question someone.

"Yes." Came the response. "He may have to stay in bed a few hours though; we need to keep a close eye on his condition."

I felt the weight on top of me shift slightly and realized Kimiko must have had to hold me down; damn low pain tolerance. As she moved to get down, I reached up to hold her down. I hadn't forgotten my promise.

Kimiko's P.O.V.

Haru had not fought my genjutsu long; I assumed he knew it was me. Lady Tsunade had finally stopped working, so I asked, "Did you get it all out?"

She nodded, responding, "Yes. He may have to stay in bed a few hours though; we need to keep a close eye on his condition." Then she moved across the room to help tend to Kazuma's leg, while Kakashi left to try to find Sakura and figure out what was wrong.

I breathed a sigh of relief and began to get off the bed, but Haru seemed to have other ideas. _He must be awake. _I thought, blushing madly as he held me down at my hips. I tried to work my way out of his grasp, but he wouldn't let me. After a moment or two of my struggling, he let go with one hand. I thought it was going to be my chance to escape, but then he used that hand to push himself up. The next thing I knew, his lips had crashed onto mine. I froze; the hand he had used to prop himself up made its way around my waist. For a moment, I didn't have the slightest clue what to do, but I eventually gave in and kissed back, wrapping my arms around his neck.

Kazuma let out a wolf-whistle. "Nice one Haru. Just be sure to get a room before you take it any further." He joked, earning him a light smack on the head from Lady Tsunade, saving me the trouble of trying to find and throw something at him, and earning a loud 'ow'.

We both pulled away, and I continued hugging Haru, who in turn hugged me back. After a few moments, we heard Kakashi coming back down the hall where he had been talking to Sakura, but before he came in, I quickly moved so that, although I was still hugging Haru, I was sitting beside him in what Kakashi would deem and 'unprovocative' postion.

He entered the room and smiled at us. I knew he would want a formal introduction for Haru, so I pulled away and began. "Kakashi, you already know Haru. Haru, this is Kakashi Hatake; I've told you about the man who raised me after I moved to Konoha." I reminded him. He smiled and nodded. "Well, this is him." I smiled as the two exchanged the usual formalities.

Now all I needed was to find a way to get my 'Uncle' Obito, and my father back, and my family would all be together.


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

AN: Kishimoto owns all except my characters-Kiminari, and Kimiko, and later characters. Also I'm probably not going to follow any of the story line except a few small things. I may take the characters outside their natural personalities, but that's because it's my story, and it'll add to it. Another thing: since I'm not following the story line of the series- All main (good) characters will start out the same age as they should be, but even though the Akatsuki will be around, the war will not happen until later; if it does at all. Again this is because I'm making up my own story line; it gets kinda boring when nothing has changed and, you readers would be able to guess what was going to happen all the time. So, enjoy, and please comment, review, rate, whatever you wanna do. :D

P.S. I don't like to go into detail to tell you things most of you already know, and if you don't already know them, then it's best I don't tell you.

Three days later, Lady Tsunade allowed Haru to leave the hospital. Although he could walk with the aide of a crutch, and was therefore free to leave, Kazuma had asked to stay with him just to make sure nothing weird happened; I had returned with Kakashi to the apartment so I could make them food every day. When I had returned to the hospital the first time with a bundle of food I noticed Tsunade and Sakura in a very heated argument. Later, when the Hokage came in to check on our patient, I questioned her about it.

"Hokage-sama? Is Sakura alright? She's seemed really stressed. She's only come over with Naruto to visit once, and she didn't say much; she had to leave early too."

"To be completely honest with you, Kimiko, she has been upset. The problem is, she's upset with you."

"Me?!" I asked incredulously. "What did I do?" _Did my hair look bad; I still wear the same style clothes and she's never complained about them, did she think it was time for a change? _I thought with a mental chuckle.

"She's been suspicious of you ever since you returned. Honestly, we all have been."

"Oh." I said glumly. "I guess I understand. And it's worse now that they have shown up." I nodded my head in Kazuma and Haru's direction.

"Yeah. I've gone over everything we've learned about the Akatsuki since then, and I couldn't find any activity that would involve you three. That pretty much says you're all clear, but she still won't believe it. I really don't know why though." She finished thoughtfully.

I giggled a little. "Well if Sasuke were in my place I'm sure he'd have nothing to worry about." She chuckled at that too, but hers seemed different, almost like she was glad it was me.

Later that day, Haru was released from the hospital, and I took my best friend, and my 'extremely close' friend to go get some new clothes for themselves as well as some replacements for mine. Luckily, Ibiki had let them keep what they'd been wearing, so all we had to do was get rid of the stupid home-made cloaks once they'd been settled into the hospital.

Afterwards, we ate at a small tea shop, then I lead them to Kakashi's apartment, where they emptied their clothes into makeshift drawers that Kakashi had made while we were out. While both had bought standard fish-net undershirts and sweat-like pants similar to my own-Kazuma's dark blue but Haru's black-, they had each chosen different styles of shirts.

Kazuma had picked out relatively simple blues and blacks with low collars and a loose, black, protective vest to go over them. We, being the three of us and Kakashi, had decided it would be best to tell the hokage about his lineage in the next few days, so, after that I would take his shirts to get the clan crest emblazoned onto the sleeves or backs.

Haru had chosen lighter colors for his shirts. He had one light tan, one light blue, one forest green, and one bright sunset red. When I had questioned him about his choices, he told me had chosen the red one, because it matched my hair, and that the others he just liked to look at. The three of us and Kakashi all got a good laugh out of that one.

The next day, Kakashi insisted that I show them around the Uchiha compound, saying that since I had someone else around, I would probably feel safer; and that he didn't have enough room for everyone. The boys really enjoyed it, especially Kazuma, whom I told he would one day have a house of his own here.

The day after that, I moved back into my old home along with my family. It seemed that someone, in their free time had kept the place in decent order –probably Kakashi- so I didn't have to do much for us to settle in. I had shown Kazuma to what used to be Itatchi's/my room, and we had shared a short smile, remembering our old Akatsuki 'brother'.

Officially, Haru's room was what used to be Sasuke's, but until we were sure the poison's effects would not come back, we'd decided he could stay on a mat in my new room (the clan head room); that was short lived. That night, I was awakened by someone shaking me gently. "Hmm?" I lazily questioned.

"Sorry, Kimi-chan, but I just can't go to sleep on the hard floor." He whined in a childish way. I mentally giggled at his actions.

"You sleep on the ground just fine when you're on a mission. Are my floors really harder to sleep on than the ground, because you're welcome to the garden." I lightly teased.

He huffed a little, reminding me of the trait he had picked up from his adopted brother. "But my ribs still hurt. Can't I just stay with you?" He whined again, more desperate this time.

"Fine." I said, giving in tiredly, and with a bit of guilt, remembering his injury. "Just be sure to get up early. Knowing Kakashi, if he decides to come over for a visit, he'll try to find a reason to get at your throat. I wouldn't put it past him sneaking into my room, or looking for chakra signatures through the window with his Sharingan." I giggled a little at the thought of what he would do if he saw us laying together. I'd decided it would be best for us to not even hold hands in front of him until he got to know Haru better.

I moved to one side of the bed as he lay down, but as soon as he was under the covers, he quickly wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me into his body. I hadn't been expecting that, and since I was still drowsy, I had no time to react, so I simply froze. When he snuggled his nose into my neck from behind me, I slowly turned my head so I could glare at him.

"What?" He questioned innocently. "We're together, so it shouldn't be weird. Calm down, I don't really want to do anything else yet anyway." My face turned as red as my hair for a moment, and I was glad it was dark. "I just haven't gotten to hug you for so long, I figure this'll make up for it." He grinned cheekily. I just rolled my eyes, and chuckled a little, before turning my head back around, and relaxing.

Please Review

AN: Don't forget about the drawing entries! If you would like, I'm starting a competition. Just send me a link in the reviews, or on private messaging of a drawing, sketch, or painting of your favorite characters from my stories. You may include characters that are from the actual universe, but all entries must include at least one of the stories OCs. I'll start the first drawing on March 1, but if you're just reading, don't worry. I plan to continue this for a while


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter 37

AN: Kishimoto owns all except my characters-Kiminari, and Kimiko, and later characters. Also I'm probably not going to follow any of the story line except a few small things. I may take the characters outside their natural personalities, but that's because it's my story, and it'll add to it. Another thing: since I'm not following the story line of the series- All main (good) characters will start out the same age as they should be, but even though the Akatsuki will be around, the war will not happen until later; if it does at all. Again this is because I'm making up my own story line; it gets kinda boring when nothing has changed and, you readers would be able to guess what was going to happen all the time. So, enjoy, and please comment, review, rate, whatever you wanna do. :D

P.S. I don't like to go into detail to tell you things most of you already know, and if you don't already know them, then it's best I don't tell you.

Kakashi's P.O.V.

I chuckled to myself as I deactivated my Sharingan. I trusted Kimiko not to let that boy Haru get away with anything, and I'd pretty much decided he was a good kid, but just to be safe, I'd gone to her house to check. When I'd read the chakra signatures outside her window, I knew they were both already asleep (I had waited until around midnight to go check). After I had determined that, I scaled the wall until I could look into the rooms from above. (AN: when closing window curtains, the rule is lower floor: up, upper floor: down.) As suspected, nothing seemed to have happened; however, Haru _had_ laid down with her and had his arm tightly around her. _Ah, so I was right when I guessed they were a package No wonder she never denied it._ I chuckled to myself. _I probably shouldn't mention this, though. She'd be prepared for me if I did._ And with that I left.

Kimiko's P.O.V.

The next morning, when I awoke, Haru was still there. I rolled my eyes. No matter how hard he tries, he always over sleeps. I noticed that I had rolled over to face him in my sleep, and that his arms were as tight around me as they were when I'd fallen asleep; this meant I couldn't easily get away without waking him or numbing his arms, so I decided to just be patient.

I must have fallen back asleep, because what caused me to open my eyes next was someone playing gently with my hair, as I slept with it down. I smiled a small smile, and the next thing I knew, Haru had his mouth glued to mine; I just went with it. Our kiss didn't last long, but we shared many feelings through our chakra. I could tell he missed our old friends as much as I did, and I could also tell he knew something I didn't.

"What don't I need to know?" I asked in a gentle, but serious tone.

"Something Leader-sama told me not to tell you. He made Kazuma and I both swear we wouldn't; on our _lives_ too." I giggled a little at the last bit. He wouldn't have hurt them for fear of angering my father (or worse, angering me. And my father and I both knew that I could easily deal with 'Pein' if I wanted to; besides, Konan and I were good friends, so I could get to him without ever speaking with him directly).

"Oh." I rolled my eyes with a smile. "Well then you shouldn't tell." I giggled.

He smiled back, but it wasn't normal. I didn't say anything, but I had a pretty bad feeling that some sort of war was about to break out.

Eventually, I managed to talk him into getting out of bed so I could go make breakfast. When we finally made it down to the kitchen, Kazuma was sitting at the table with the biggest, evilest grin on his face I'd ever seen.

"What?" I asked innocently.

"Nothing." he shrugged. "I was just beginning to wonder how late you two had stayed up last night." We both looked at him oddly. "Don't think I don't know why you put me in a room across the house from you to." He tried to explain, but we were still confused (what can I say, I was still tired and Haru usually oblivious). "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone, just be sure to use protection." He said jokingly.

It finally hit us what he was insinuating. My face turned as red as my hair, and Haru's followed in suit. "Seriously!" I threw my hands in the air and shouted making them both jump. "We didn't do anything!" He just snickered. _Ok, you asked for it._

I calmly walked over and put my face at his eye level. "Alright, does this have something to do with you and your girlfriend?" I questioned him. He flushed a little.

"No." He answered, a little embarrassed, but still not ready to give up. "Why so defensive if nothing happened, Kimi?"

I rolled my eyes. _And cue the final blow; even if it does make me look guilty._ "I think I _do_ know what the problem is; your _jealous_." I said slyly. "Your girlfriend just doesn't want something you can't keep up let alone something so small." I smirked, enjoying the shade of red his face turned in response. I turned to Haru who had been standing by the fridge; he was just as red as Kazuma. As I neared him, I whispered warningly, "You better not disappoint me in the future." Then let out an evil laugh as his shade of red deepened even more. _Poor boys._ I thought, _Ya gotta love 'em._

By the time breakfast was ready, Haru and Kazuma's faces had returned to their normal colors. Breakfast this morning was rice and tamagoyaki with the key ingredients being ham and cheese. As I sat their plates down, my two closest friends seemed to immediately forget about the awkward predicament I'd forced them into earlier, and began to shove the food into their mouths.

As we ate, I spoke. "This afternoon, we're taking Kazuma to see Lady Hokage. I've decided to help you both become official members of this village, but we need to tell her your history first, Kazuma." He nodded, understanding. "Unfortunately, this also means that once the war starts the two of us will have to fight our own fathers." They both stiffened. "Oh, don't worry, I didn't read either of your thoughts. I already knew it would happen eventually." They relaxed. "But I you did just confirm it." _And cue mental face-palms._

After a short pause, Haru asked, "What did you mean by the _two_ of you would have to fight your fathers?" We both looked at each other, before he nodded.

I answered, "Well, for starters, Tobi's real name is Obito Uchiha." He raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. "That's Kazuma's father." He nodded, thinking about it, then:

"Dude, I really feel sorry for you now." We all three laughed, but then the two of us explained who exactly Obito Uchiha was so Haru would have a better idea of what was going on.

"Then who's your father, Kimi?" He asked when we were done. "You said you'd tell me one day."

"Well, to tell you that, first I need to tell you that Pein, or Nagato, isn't really in charge. Obito is over him, and Madara is the one in charge. _That _is who my dad is.

At that his face paled. "_The_ Madara Uchiha?" I nodded, beginning to worry what he would do next.

I waited patiently, but he remained still. "You know, he's got a nice side once you get to know him." I offered shyly. He blinked. "What do you want me to say Haru?" I asked jokingly. "'I'ts OK, sweety, he's not going to want bonding time.' Or 'Don't worry, he won't bite.'" Kazuma and I just laughed. This finally seemed to give Haru a little encouragement to come back to Earth.

He let out a nervous chuckle. "And it was his idea to set us up?" I nodded.

"Well, originally, he wanted me to choose Kazuma, but when I decided I liked you, he just went with it; he really didn't mind as long as I picked one of you, since it would have been easier than bringing in someone else. Besides, Kazuma has a girlfriend, so it all worked out perfectly." He let out another nervous chuckle.

"What if any grandkids aren't good enough for him, though?" He asked a little scared. "He'll be at _my_ throat."

I turned a little pink. "I doubt he'll mind, as long as they aren't down-right stupid." I joked.

Please Review


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter 38

AN: Kishimoto owns all except my characters-Kiminari, and Kimiko, and later characters. Also I'm probably not going to follow any of the story line except a few small things. I may take the characters outside their natural personalities, but that's because it's my story, and it'll add to it. Another thing: since I'm not following the story line of the series- All main (good) characters will start out the same age as they should be, but even though the Akatsuki will be around, the war will not happen until later; if it does at all. Again this is because I'm making up my own story line; it gets kinda boring when nothing has changed and, you readers would be able to guess what was going to happen all the time. So, enjoy, and please comment, review, rate, whatever you wanna do. :D

P.S. I don't like to go into detail to tell you things most of you already know, and if you don't already know them, then it's best I don't tell you.

After we were all done with breakfast and had put on some nice clothes, we made our way to Lady Tsunade's office. Before knocking, I turned to face the two boys behind me and said, "Please just don't say anything stupid." Earning a nod from both. Then Shizune opened the door and ushered us in.

"Good morning, Kimiko." The two women greeted me, to which I responded. Then Lady Tsunade spoke, "What can I do for you?"

"Well, I'd like to more formally introduce Kazuma." I stated. She raised an eyebrow. "We'd decided to keep his true identity from everyone until you had proved his innocence." I said a little ashamed that we'd lied to her.

"And how does lying prove to me he's innocent?" She questioned sarcastically.

"Well, I was afraid that if you knew his history, you'd let Ibiki keep him." She nodded, so I continued. "He's also an Uchiha." A shocked look appeared on her face, so I rushed to explain. "Don't worry, he's not my brother. Obito didn't die, this is his son." I stated simply.

"Does Kakashi know about this?"

I shook my head. "No, only his name."

"Good, I think it's better that he not know yet." We both nodded. "So, other than being truthful, was there anything else you needed?"

"Their citizenship. Something's bound to come up eventually with all the problems in the other villages. They want to be able to help too." She smiled agreeing with me. "There was also a problem to discuss." She waited for me to continue. "Kazuma and I both were hoping he could wear the clan's crest, but I don't want Kakashi to be reminded too much and start asking too many questions…" I trailed off.

"Well, I was actually beginning to think about that. Kakashi's bound to think something's up if he starts to get to know Kazuma and finds some similarities. He's smart, he'll figure it out eventually." She paused to think. "I'll break it to him. In the meantime, feel free to wear it." She directed the last to Kazuma, who bowed respectfully, thanking her. _For the stupid idiot he can be sometimes, he still has a way of showing he _does _know manners._ I smiled.

After they had finished filling out the necessary papers and receiving dates to earn their headbands, we left. We ran by the house first to pick up Kazuma's shirts, and my own and he borrowed one of Haru's so he wouldn't have to shirtless, then went to the monograming shop that I used to have the clan crest put on our clothes. It didn't take the woman to long, considering she'd done it several times for me, however, she did question who the other shirts were for.

"They're for Kazuma." I told her, pointing to my friend. She still looked a bit confused as to why he would need them, so I explained further. "Kazuma is my cousin. He's also an Uchiha." Her response was slight shock.

"Where did he come from?" She asked, slightly dumbfounded.

"He was a hostage of the Akatsuki, same as me. We don't know much about his parents."

"Oh, you poor dear." She said, recalling the hostage crisis story that had spread through the village once I had returned. "You must really miss you parents."

He nodded. "Yes ma'am, I do. But even before the Akatsuki took me, I had been living with a neighbor; my family was killed a few years after the massacre. But I've got a new family now. Lady Tsunade allowed Haru and me to become official citizens of the village just this morning." He said jesturing to the boy on the other side of me.

"Well, that's just wonderful dears." she said as she finished packing Kazuma's things into a bag. "I'm glad you've been welcomed hear, and I hope it will grow to be your home." He bowed in thanks again as I paid, then we left.

We were nearly home when a young genin ran up to us saying that the hokage needed to talk to me. After sending Kazuma and Haru on their way, I followed the young boy who was taking me to Lady Tsunade. When we arrived, Lady Tsunade motioned me to sit. I did as I was told, and waited as she finished what she was working on.

When she finally looked up at me, she said, "Kimiko, we've learned some more about your mother." I brightened up at this.

"What is it?" I asked excitedly." How?"

"We sent a request to her old village for her information. It took some convincing, but they finally agreed to give some. However, we could not open the scroll; they told us only you could. Turns out it wasn't a request on their part, but a fact." I tilted my head in confusion. "It's sealed so that only someone with a DNA close enough to hers to be her child, can open it."

I nodded, and she pulled a small scroll out of a drawer in her desk and handed it to me. I took it and easily opened it; reading it in my head.

_To the child of Kiminari Uzumaki,_

_Here follows all known information on your mother's heritage._

_Mother: Mito Uzumaki_

_Father: Hashirama Senju_

_Siblings: unknown_

_Although there is more information on her, by her will's request, we may not disclose anything else to you. We apologize for the inconvenience._

Confusion swept through me. Not only was my father the strongest ninja alive, but my grandfather had been even stronger; and to top it all off, they were enemies. That means my father married the daughter of the person he had been rivals with since childhood, and that my mother should have been old enough to be a great grandmother as well, had she still been alive now.. "OK, now my life just got even weirder." I said out loud, handing Lady Tsunade the scroll.

After reading it twice, she looked at me with a very confused face; obviously thinking along the same lines as I. We sat like that silently for a moment before she pulled a large book out of her desk. It had some crest on the front that I was unfamiliar with. "Kimiko, this is the Senju family book. In it is the name of every single person of Senju blood that we have any information on." I nodded. "I've gone through my mother's generation a hundred times, and I've never seen a Kiminari."

"So there's no information on her at all?" She shook her head.

I am _so sorry_ it took so long. School is finally over, so I'll have all summer to work on it. I'll try to finish too. :D


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter 39

AN: Kishimoto owns all except my characters-Kiminari, and Kimiko, and later characters. Also I'm probably not going to follow any of the story line except a few small things. I may take the characters outside their natural personalities, but that's because it's my story, and it'll add to it. Another thing: since I'm not following the story line of the series- All main (good) characters will start out the same age as they should be, but even though the Akatsuki will be around, the war will not happen until later; if it does at all. Again this is because I'm making up my own story line; it gets kinda boring when nothing has changed and, you readers would be able to guess what was going to happen all the time. So, enjoy, and please comment, review, rate, whatever you wanna do. :D

*If anyone knows any more about Tsunade's parents, please share. Google, Wiki, and everything esle have turned up absolutely nothing.

AN 2: Sorry it took me so long guys. I decided I wanted to wait to see how (SPOILER ALERT!) the manga ended so that my ending wouldn't be something terribly off, even though the years, a few ages, and some of the plot have changed. Again though, that's what keeps away copyright, and makes it my story. So without further ado, I give you the next chapter.

Recap:

Confusion swept through me. Not only was my father the strongest ninja alive, but my grandfather had been even stronger; and to top it all off, they were enemies. That means my father married the daughter of the person he had been rivals with since childhood. "OK, now my life just got even weirder." I said out loud, handing Lady Tsunade the scroll.

After reading it twice, she looked at me with a very confused face. We sat like that silently for a moment before she pulled a large book out of her desk. It had some crest on the front that I was unfamiliar with. "Kimiko, this is the Senju family book. In it is the name of every single person of Senju blood that we have any information on." I nodded. "I've gone through my mother's generation a hundred times, and I've never seen a Kiminari."

"So there's no information on her at all?" She shook her head.

She passed me the book just so I could see for myself, but I didn't even bother. I did however, look at the page where my grandparents were listed. Since that particular page was dedicated solely to the head of the Senju clan for that generation, it didn't say the names of anyone, but Hashirama himself, but I could tell for sure that the woman in the picture next to him was Mito because she had the same hair color as myself, Kushina, my mother, and Nagato. (I'd once seen an old picture of a young Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan a box of memorabilia that Konan kept in her room.)

I smiled noting that the exact shade of her hair had passed down to my mother, then to me. I also noted that, while I carried many of my father's facial features, my mother's and my own forehead were shaped much like my grandfather's. Our dainty build, from my grandmother. Having the book helped me to more easily compare my appearances to my family's, but I was also having to rely on my memory for the image of my mother, as her picture did not appear with Hashirama's other children. I was about to ask Lady Tsunade about this, but remembered she had already said she didn't know anything else about her, and probably had doubts about my mother's legitimacy, even though comparing the pictures gave dead examples of our relations.

I had just flipped the page to look at the pictures of the people who, I would guess should be my cousins, when Lady Tsunade snatched it away from me; but not before I saw what she was trying to keep me from seeing. An old picure of her as a teenager; apparently even she had bad days when it came to being photogenic. But, I pretended not to notice.

"Well, Kimiko, I'm sorry we couldn't get any more information on your mother, but if you like, I could tell you some about your grandfather," She said quickly.

"Well, I already know all the history books say." I responded.

"Yes, but don't you want to know about him as a person?"

"Of course, but I'd be willing to _**bet**_ that I already know some things that you'd never tell me," I said, grinning cheekily. BAM! Perfect results. She caught on instantly.

"You little brat! Don't you ever tell anyone about that picture!" she snarled, dead serious.

"What picture, _**cousin**_?" I asked grinning bigger, and quickly reaching over her desk to grab at the book.

She almost caught it, but I was just a thought ahead.

"Ohh! You mean this one?" I asked innocently flipping the book back open to her page. Her anger was beginning to flare, but she stayed silent, and put her hand out; a sign that she wasn't in the mood to play games. _Darn, and I've never had the chance to fight her._ I thought gloomily, then laughed internally. _Perhaps I am too much like my father._ The thought scared me a little.

"Fine!" I sighed, passing her the book. "I was just happy to have finally found someone who was related to me," I said sullenly as I headed to the door. "But, I guess it's for the best. After all," I said pausing as I held the door open, "you are a bit old for me to call you one-chan." I said sadly, before grinning again, then bailing. I knew that would definitely set her off, and if she didn't come after me now, she'd probably find a way to get back at me later. I'd have to keep my guard up; I honestly didn't trust that it was beyond her to try break into my house just to get back at me. I'd have to put up a chakra barrier tonight, just in case; maybe some trip wires too.


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter 40

AN: Kishimoto owns all except my characters-Kiminari, and Kimiko, and later characters. Also I'm probably not going to follow any of the story line except a few small things. I may take the characters outside their natural personalities, but that's because it's my story, and it'll add to it. Another thing: since I'm not following the story line of the series- All main (good) characters will start out the same age as they should be, but even though the Akatsuki will be around, the war will not happen until later; if it does at all. Again this is because I'm making up my own story line; it gets kinda boring when nothing has changed and, you readers would be able to guess what was going to happen all the time. So, enjoy, and please comment, review, rate, whatever you wanna do. :D

*Sorry, this chapter and the last one have both been a bit short. I hope they flow together following the rest of the plot. I reread everything, but my mind is so scattered right now, I could have easily left something out. If something doesn't make sense, just tell me.

Recap:

"Fine!" I sighed, passing her the book. "I was just happy to have finally found someone who was related to me," I said sullenly as I headed to the door. "But, I guess it's for the best. After all," I said pausing as I held the door open, "you are a bit old for me to call you one-chan." I said sadly, before grinning again, then bailing. I knew that would definitely set her off, and if she didn't come after me now, she'd probably find a way to get back at me later. I'd have to keep my guard up; I honestly didn't trust that it was beyond her to try break into my house just to get back at me. I'd have to put up a chakra barrier tonight, just in case; maybe some trip wires too.

_Oh, no. He's definitely rubbed off on me too much. Now I'm making back up plans for the back up plans for my plan to keep out someone who probably won't even waste their time. … But if she does, and I'm not prepared, I'm in deep. … Knowing her, she could probably even get past all of that. … That's it! I just won't go to sleep tonight. It's not like I can trust those two idiots living with me to take shifts with me to guard the house. They'd probab_l_ CRASH.

"Oh, no! I'm sorry. I was thinking too much, and wasn't paying attention." Figures. I'm always crashing into something. I thought as I backed out of the person's way, apologizing again.

"No problem, I wasn't paying attention either. I just got a new book, so I was… Oh hey, Kimi."

"Oh, hey, Kakashi! I didn't know that was you. You know you really shouldn't be reading those things in public." I laughed. He'd always been laid back, and unfortunately a bit perverted, but during my stay with the Akatsuki, Obito had told me about Kakashi's personality as a child. It was hard to picture him all uptight. I laughed again out loud at the though.

"What's funny now?" He asked, but I waved his question away.

"Come with me." I said pulling him towards the nearest dumpling shop. "You're going to treat me to dango. It's been too long since I've been to any of Konoha's food shops. And I have some news for you." I smiled.

"I already know what you're going to tell me," he said after we'd settled into a booth in the corner. I raised an eyebrow. "It's about your mother's parents. Right?" I nodded. "Lady Tsunade made me aware the moment she knew; she had Shizune contact me right after you left. She thought I should know, just in case you got upset later. Although it would seem you're more than ok with the situation."

"You just always have to ruin the moment, don't you?" I said glaring at him. "It did surprise me; well, actually it came as a bit of a shock to both of us, really. I hadn't realize how old both of my parents were." I said making a bit of a gross face and shaking my head.

"Well, we knew that your father had an unnatural aging process, likely a result of his taking in Hashirama's, sorry, your grandfather's cells during their last battle. The senju clan, during his time, produced many powerful ninja all with very unique abilities, and most with longer life spans. That coupled with the usually above normal longevity of the Uzumaki clan gave your mother a very long life expectancy too. So, in the grand scheme of things, _**you're**_ really, still very much a child." He finished with a smile as our sweets arrived.

"Well, I may be a child compared to my parents, but compared to most people now, I'm almost an adult, and even as a child to them, I could still kick their butts, so I don't see how my age matters." I laughed, and he joined me.

"Well, since we've covered that, there actually is still something you can tell me, but I think it'd be better if we went to your house. Your new friends could help you explain some of the finer details, I'm sure." He said, still very pleasant.

"You've already searched all of our minds. Sure we kept some things out of reach, but only because they were personal. If it can help the village, you've seen it." I sighed.

"What about the personal things? Can any of them _**hurt**_ the village?"

I hadn't given that any thought. "Not in any way I could see. My emotionally attachments have hardly ever gotten in the way, and when they did, it was only because I knew it wouldn't negatively impact the mission." I answered.

"And what is your mission now?" He asked still trying to keep a cool atmosphere, but I could sense it getting darker.

"The same as it's been since I moved to Konoha. To protect the village. I didn't have any real family when I moved here, but the people accepted me, and they became my family. I'd do anything to protect them ok," I said, beginning to get a bit frustrated. "I'd never let anything get in the way of that. Even if it was my own blood, I wouldn't take their side over Konoha's. That is, unless Konoha has changed. It isn't exactly the same place I left. But the people here are still working toward the right cause, so I'll deal with any mistrust." I had begun to raise my voice a bit, so I pause to cool my head.

"People don't have to like you to be your family," I said quietly. "Only to be your friends, and I don't need any fake friends. I've got two, waiting on me at home." I said rising from my seat and taking out my wallet. "Here," I said placing my half of the bill on the table. "You aren't my dad, so you don't have to keep buying things for me."

"No, you're right, Kimi." He replied before I could leave. "I'm your _**friend**_, so that means you've got _**three**_. And we've got your back. I just need to know that you've got everyone else's here."

I nodded, a wordless promise, but he must have believed me, because he picked up the money and handed it back before paying the bill with his own, and following me outside.

"Well, if you do remember anything else important, you can always tell me first if you want. You know I'll keep a secret."

I nodded again. "It's actually more that I _**can't**_ tell you certain things than that I _**won't**_." I said. "Not because I promised or anything, but because I don't really know myself what's entirely true."

He nodded, understanding, then moved to hug me, but I moved back, startled.

"Sheesh, I only wanted a hug from the little girl I raised to be so strong." He said feigning hurt.

"Sorry," I said sheepishly. "I'm still a bit jumpy I guess." Then stepped up to him and gave him a tight hug. There weren't many people I was comfortable with being in my blind spot, or being close enough to hurt me if they wanted to; I just didn't trust that many people that much, but Kakashi was one of those few people, along with Haru, Kazuma, and my dad, so it felt comforting to be near someone I could trust to have my back and actually take my words as the truth.


	41. Chapter 41

Chapter 41

Disclaimer: I own nothing from the Naruto series, only my own OCs.

I returned to the house to hear strange noises coming from inside. I quickly concealed my chakra before removing my shoes and stepping up onto the porch. I snuck around to the back of the house so I could get a better idea of what trouble Kazuma and Haru had caused now, and heard them talking in worried tones.

"Just throw it out and we'll get a new one tomorrow." Haru was saying. "I doubt she'll notice, and even if she does, I don't think she'll be that mad. I mean, it's only a picture frame; they're easy to replace."

"As long as the picture is fine, and it wasn't one of the antiques, I could care less." I spoke up, walking through the open sliding door to see them pale as ghosts and frozen in horror over the broken frame.

"Seriously guys, it's ok." I laughed. "I just can't believe you were only home alone for like, forty-five minutes, and you already broke something. What caused it anyway?" I asked as they relaxed a bit.

"Well, I was going to get a book from the library to read some more about the family and I saw this picture of Itachi as a kid, I guess with his brother and was going to show Haru how funny he looked as a child, but…"

"But what?" I asked, waiting, and noticing Haru snickering.

"But, there was a spider on the back that crawled off onto his arm." Haru answered for him. Outright laughing at this point.

"Hey! They can be highly dangerous." He defended himself. "Could you imagine having to say, as a shinobi, to a medic: Oh, help! I've been defeated by a SPIDER?! It'd be the most embarrassing thing ever."

I tried to keep a straight face, but in the end, I couldn't help but laugh along with Haru. While Kazuma sulked off to his room to pout about being the center of humor.

A couple hours later, after I'd made some dinner of rich, grilled fish-since it was Kazuma's favorite, and he needed a pick-me-up-,and stir-fry, along with the help of Haru, Kazuma decided to join us again to eat. His pride was still sore from earlier, but my announcement of some news perked him up a bit.

"So you found out more about your mom?" Haru asked. "That's great. What was it?"

"You're both going to think this is crazy, but so did I. Lady Tsunade said there's always the chance that someone lied about it, and I agree, but he letter she received for me from my mother's village said that her parents were Hashirama Senju and Mito Uzumaki." They both gaped.

"But that would make your mom super old." Haru said, childishly.

"You already know her dad is, you idiot." Responded Kazuma, equally as childish. "The real issue you're missing is the fact that her father married his _friend's daughter_. And last I checked they stopped being friends before Kimi's mom was even born, so really, he married his _enemy's_ daughter."

"Alright." I cut in. "I think he gets it."

"No I don't. Why did they become enemies?" Haru asked, completely lost.

And so we explained it to him.

"Wow Kimiko! No wonder you're so powerful; you've got genes to back you up from every side." He commented.

"Yeah, and I've also got _conflict_ on all sides. I can't imagine what would have happened if my grandparents, on _either _side really, had known about this. I mean everyone thought Hashirama killed my dad, so…" I trailed off.

"You're really mixed up." Kazuma stated, and I nodded back, taking a bite of food that I realized had become cold while we spoke. _So much for the fish._

Later that evening, after we'd finished, we sat up in the living room playing a board game around the coffee table and talking about this and that, and every now and then joking about something only we would understand, or even find funny, like Hidan's fear of shaving or 'Tobi's' secret reasoning for particularly making Deidara's life a living hell-although we knew he did choose to irritate Deidara the most, all we could do was theorize his true reasons.

Eventually we came to the topic of where Kazuma would live with Mirai, and I realized he hadn't really spoken much about her since arriving in Konoha, until now.

"What about her anyway?" I asked. "You haven't said much, aren't you planning on inviting her sometime, or at least letting her know where you are?"

"Well, the truth is, she doesn't even know what happened yet. I just keep writing her like we're back at the base. I'm not really sure how to explain to her how to act even if she did come to Konoha. I mean, she's not exactly for the Akatsuki either, so she'll be happy we're out of there, but I'm not sure how she'll react to being invited to Konoha." He said worriedly.

"Why not? Does she have something against the village?" asked Haru.

"Well, she's from Yukigakure, and it's not like they're on the friendliest terms with Konoha." he answered.

We knowingly nodded.

"I'm sure she'll be ok with it, once we explain the real reason for tension between the villages." I said. "Besides, I want to meet my new 'sister'." I'd taken to referring to Kazuma as a brother, so I liked to consider Mirai a sister. Even though we'd only met a couple of times, so far, we'd gotten along quite well. "I'll talk to Lady Tsunade, if you'd like. I'm sure she can figure out some way to get her here." I added, earning a smile and a nod.

AN: Don't forget about the drawing entries! If you would like, I'm starting a competition. Just send me a link in the reviews, or on private messaging of a drawing, sketch, or painting of your favorite characters from my stories. You may include characters that are from the actual universe, but all entries must include at least one of the stories OCs. I'll start the first drawing on March 1, but if you're just reading, don't worry. I plan to continue this for a while


	42. Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Disclaimer: I own nothing from the Naruto series, only my own OCs.

After our game, I rose stretching and yawning. "Alright, I'm tired. I think I'll just take a shower and head on to bed." But, as I made my way to the door, Kazuma, who was helping Haru clean up the pieces, decided to revisit the topic from that morning.

"You're not going to wait on Haru?" He asked sarcastically. Earning him a warning look.

"No, I'm not." I responded sharply. "Haru's a big boy, he can take a shower on his own." Then I turned my attention to Haru, asking, "Your ribs aren't so broken that you cant reach your back or wash you hair, are they?"

He hesitated, having turned a light shade of pink. "Uhhhh."

"Well. Yes or no?"

"Uh, no, I guess."

I rolled my eyes. "That's what I thought." I continued through the door, but stopped just outside it and stuck my head back in, saying, "By the way, if you plan on sleeping in my bed again, try not to wake me up this time. It's hard enough to go to sleep, let alone, to go _back_ to sleep." Then left for the washroom.

"I WAS RIGHT!" I heard Kazuma shout to himself, followed by a loud thud, and 'ouch', and the sound of something falling. I could only assume Haru had tackled him.

"What's with you and trying to prove something?" I could hear Haru asking through gritted teeth, accompanied by the sound of what I guessed to be a foot or fist hitting the floor.

"HA! Missed."

"TAKE IT OUTSIDE!" I yelled back in their direction. "YOU'VE ALREADY BROKEN ENOUGH THINGS SINCE YOU'VE BEEN HERE!" I added, shaking my head as I heard the door open and close.

_I guess I'm going to have to take them to a training field_. I thought to myseslf. _We've all got too much built up energy. Besides, Kakashi hasn't had the chance to see either of them fight, or see how we work as a team. May be he can get a few other Jonin together and we can have a team spar._

Later, after I'd taken a quick shower and was sitting on my bed, towel drying my hair a bit before going to sleep, I noticed something in the upper corner of my closet. I stood and made my way over and retrieved it-having to stand on my toes a bit to reach it. _I really should just get a stool. It really is annoying, having to do that all the time._

When I pulled it down, I realized it was the sealed box of memoirs I'd left when I went with my father. I'd had the box, and had kept it sealed since I'd arrived in Konoha when I was a child, so I doubted anyone would have thought to check it out once I'd gone missing-although, I'd placed a blood seal on it when I was nine so only I'd be able to open it anyway. Remembering this, I nicked my thumb and wiped it across the seal. Once the seal was removed, I sat looking at the box, trying to remember what was in it.

I was trying to decide whether I wanted to open it now, or not, when Haru knocked. "It's me Kimi." He called.

"You can come it." I responded.

When he saw I was sitting on the bed holding something, his curiosity sparked.

"What's that?" He questioned, setting next to me.

"It's a box of things I've accumulated since I moved here, that mean a lot to me, but to be honest, I'm not really sure I remember all that's in it." I said.

"Well, why don't you open it and look?" He asked, curious as ever.

"I'm not sure. I guess, since I don't know what I'll find, I'm a bit nervous. I know it doesn't make much sense to be scared of my own memorabilia, but it feels like I've been away from this life so long that I might not feel the same about it."

"No, your right." He chuckled. "That doesn't make any sense. Even if you don't feel the _same_ about it as you did when you put it in there, you'll still have _some_ feelings for everything in that box. You might laugh at why you have some of it, once you remember why it's there."

I laughed at that. "I'll have to agree, some of it may be a bit funny to look back at now, considering I've had it all since I was five or six. I'm just curious as to why I can't _remember_ any of it." Then I opened it and it all came flooding back.

As I sat there with a shocked expression, Haru looked at me and waved a hand in front of my face. "You OK, Kimiko?"

I shook my head to regain my thoughts.

"Yeah." I answered. "I just realized why I couldn't remember anything." I laughed. "When I left, I erased my own memory of everything that's in it, since there was information crucial to Konoha in it, and I wasn't entirely sure no one would question my on sensitive topics like that." I lowered the lid and looked at him seriously. "I _will_ erase your memory of anything related to that you may see."

"How about I just close my eyes, cover them, and turn around?" He suggested, not really preferring the use of a mind bending jutsu, as he said they felt uncomfortable.

I agreed, and waited until he had done what he'd said, then rummaged around until I found all of the old information, and sat on it.

"OK. You're good now." I laughed. "Now, lets see…" I looked through the box to see what all I wanted to show him.

"So this is kind of like a tangible diary, huh?"

"I guess you could call it that, except you won't find any black mail." We laughed as I pulled out the necklace I'd bought when I'd first moved to Konoha. "This is the Uzumaki clan crest." I said holding it in my hand, where he could see it. "If you and Kazuma are accepted as Jonin, you'll have to wear the standard vests; they have this on the side." He nodded, remembering the history I'd taught him of why the crests were worn on the vests.

"What about your family's crest?" He asked as I returned the necklace to my box. "Won't I have to wear it once we're married?"

I blushed a little at the thought, causing him to as well. "Well, it's not required, I suppose since you weren't born into the clan, but you can if you like." I smiled.

"I don't mind. I've never actually belonged to a clan anyway. I mean, I was adopted, so I don't even know my _own_ lineage."

I thought about that for a second. He really could be anyone; why hadn't my dad looked into that? Or did he, and just chose not to tell me; or maybe even forgot, though I doubted it. "I'll get Lady Tsunade to check on that too, if she doesn't mind. I'm a bit curious as well." Then I continued with the items in front of me.

In turn, I pulled out my first set of ninja shoes, some pictures of Kakashi and myself, and even a few of myself and the Suna siblings, as well as some old recipes, my standard vest, and a spare key, which I passed to Haru, asking him to remind me to get another made for Kazuma.

Then, returning to the final items in the box, I saw, at the bottom, my headband and all the information I'd had at the time, on my parents.

"So this was his?" Haru asked, recalling that I'd told him I'd been accidentally given my father's old forehead protector. "You know, now that you've told me who he really is, I can't see him wearing it. It seems like it'd ruin his whole look."

I laughed. "I think he only wore it while he was fighting; probably not for everyday wear."

"Makes sense. Who's that?" He asked pointing to the picture at the very bottom.

"Oh yeah. _This_, Haru, is my mother, Kiminari." I said proudly holding up the print off photo.

"I see where you get your looks." I punched his shoulder. "No really, I get why your dad liked her, although, I'm not quite sure what she saw in him. But then again, I guess I don't really know him" He smiled, and we laughed.

"Well, I don't really know much about her aside what she looked like, but Dad says I'm like her sometimes." I thought for a moment, then said, "You know you never really talk about your adopted parents. What were they like?"

He frowned. "Well, they took me in, but only because it was asked of them by their superiors. Deidara took to me well enough; he enjoyed having someone to look up to him, but his parents weren't even that close to him. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate everything they did for me, like sending me to school and making sure I had everything I needed, but they were always gone on missions, so Deidara ended up raising me more than they did."

"I'm sorry, I never thought about it being like that." I said.

"It's ok." He smiled back. "I was already able to do most things myself when I got there. I think I moved to Iwagakure when I was four or five."

"Well, what about your family before that? You should be able to remember something about them right? Or about where you lived before you moved to the ****village."

He shook his head. "I've tried to remember, but I guess they erased my memory, or maybe I was just too young and forgot too quick." He smiled. "It's ok though. I don't really mind. And besides, I've got you and a brother of sorts, so I think I have a wonderful family."

"Sure, whatever you say, just wait until you see how crazy Uchiha kids are." I leaned in and whispered. "Especially with Kazuma the way he is; you never know what his will be like." We laughed at that for a few minutes, until Haru started to complain about it causing his ribs to hurt again, and flopped back onto the bed, still trying to control his laughter.

Once I'd regained my own self, I told him to cover his eyes again and roll over so I could return the important documents to their place in the box. After I'd done that, I finished replacing everything else on top of that, closed the lid, reactivating the seal, and stuffed it back on the top shelf of the closet, then returned to my side of the bed after turning off the lights and returning to my side of the bed.

"You'd better go get a shower before you fall asleep." I said, moving the blankets and earning a confused look from Haru. "I'm not letting you sleep in my bed dirty." I warned jokingly.

"Fine…" He said with a sigh, leaving for the washroom.

About fifteen minutes later, I was just starting to dose, when the door opened again. I had to cover my mouth with my hand to keep from laughing out loud. Haru had a towel around his waist and another over his head and was trying to sneak along the wall to find the dresser and his clothes; he'd forgotten them again, and couldn't see well in the dark, but was too afraid to turn the lights back on.

He had done this a couple nights before and had to find them before returning to the bathroom to change, however this night, he must have forgotten to think, or assumed I was asleep, because right there, in the middle of the room, he just dropped his towel.

I immediately closed my eyes, and tried not to make any noise. I was somewhere between laughing and yelling at him to cover up, but I didn't want to make the situation worse by having both of us embarrassed. I did, after all feel bad for him having broken ribs, and didn't really want him to opt for the floor just because of this, so I stayed quiet and focused on controlling my blush and pretending I was asleep.

A few minutes later, after he'd finished dressing and drying his hair, he climbed in the bed beside me and wrapped his arm around my waist, as he'd done the night before, only this time he'd conveniently forgotten his shirt. I rolled my eyes, but didn't say anything. He'd been in that habit until last night anyway; he'd only put one on the night before because he didn't know what I'd say.

A while later, after Haru had gone to sleep, I was about to go to sleep, myself, but suddenly felt something change; it felt wrong. I tried to un-fog my mind and think straight, when it dawned on me. Haru had stopped breathing.


	43. Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Disclaimer: I own nothing from the Naruto series, only my own OCs.

A while later, after Haru had gone to sleep, I was about to go to sleep, myself, but suddenly felt something change; it felt wrong. I tried to un-fog my mind and think straight, when it dawned on me. Haru had stopped breathing...

I immediately rolled over to face him and pushed him onto his back. I knew I wasn't going to be able to do much aside from CPR, so I grabbed my cell phone off the bedside table and dialed Sakura. As unhappy as she was with me, I knew she'd be the best to help, if she would. I set the phone down on speaker and quickly checked for a pulse.

When she finally answered she seemed a bit more annoyed than tired. "What's wrong? You do know I have an early shift right?"

"Yes, and I'm really sorry. I would have called someone else, first, but this is and emergency, and I thought you'd be the best." She waited. "Something's really wrong with Haru." I continued, now beginning to do chest compressions. "He's not breathing. I'm trying to give him CPR but if that doesn't work, I'll be no good. I don't even know what's wrong." I finished, nearing hysterics.

"Fine, I'll be over in a minute." Then she hung up. I was glad she'd agreed, but wondered if she'd really do her best. _Maybe I should have called Ino first._

I continued my efforts to get Haru to breath again for about two minutes, when he finally regained control of his lungs. Only a few moments later, Sakura arrived and made her way straight to my room. By that point, I was shaking all over and even noticed a few tears on my face.

"I see you finally did something medically helpful." She commented, although I wasn't sure it was her anger with me saying that, or if she was trying to comfort me. "Go get some water and a rag, and bring some sake if you have any."

I nodded, and followed instructions, quickly returning with the things she'd requested. _I suppose it's a good thing I'd kept that return gift instead of giving it to Kakashi._ I thought to myself about the sake.

"It seems like he's ok, now. I can't really say there's anything wrong with him." she said, taking the sake and putting some in his mouth to try to wake him up, as I put a damp rag on his forhead.

We waited a few more minutes, to see if he'd wake up, and eventually, after a few more pours of sake, and a sharp smack, he did.

"Ouch." He mumbled. "What was that for?"

"You idiot, what's wrong with you?" I said, hugging him.

"What do you mean?" He asked confused.

"I mean you stopped breathing, so what's wrong with you?"

To my surprise, he actually started laughing.  
>"This is no joke!" I said, angrily. "I had to call and wake up Sakura and everything.<p>

"I'm sorry, Kimi. I guess I forgot to tell you, since, well…" He trailed off after seeing Sakura's disapproving look at us.

"Don't worry, it's not like that." I assured her.

"It better not be, because I will _not _be helping you explain anything unplanned to Kakashi." she said, beginning to pack her things.

"So what is this you forgot to tell me now?" I questioned Haru, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, it's actually completely normal for me to do that. I've always done it, really. Once my adopted family realized it happened all the time, they just stopped worrying. Sometimes it comes and goes all night."

I stared at him with my mouth open. "That's not something you should brush off so easily. What if you go without breathing for too long?!"

"I never do, besides, it's because I…" He paused when Sakura looked at him questioningly.

"Never mind, I'll tell you some other time. It's kind of a long story, and Sakura-san needs to go back home. Doesn't she have to work early?" He said, trying to cover whatever it was he'd been about to say.

"I'll get it out of him eventually, Sakura, I promise; I'll tell you when I do. Sorry about waking you up."

"Whatever. It's OK I guess; it's not like you knew about this." She said heading to the door.

"Hey Sakura." She paused. "Once I find out what his problem is, if I tell you, will you tell me what yours is with me?"

"I don't have a _problem_ with you Kimiko, I just don't feel like you're the same person you were." She took another step, then paused again. "We can talk though, once you find out." And then she was gone.

I turned back to Haru and smacked him across the back of his head.

"I guess I deserve that." He said, cringing.

Then, once I heard the front door close, I turned the lights back off and crawled back into bed, snuggling as close to Haru as I could, wrapping my arms around him and allowing him to do the same to me.

"You've got some explaining to do tomorrow. I don't want you to _ever_ scare me like that again." I said into his chest. "I don't want to loose you." Then after a moment, "I love you."

His arms tightened around me. "I love you too Kimiko."

AN: Don't forget about the drawing entries! If you would like, I'm starting a competition. Just send me a link in the reviews, or on private messaging of a drawing, sketch, or painting of your favorite characters from my stories. You may include characters that are from the actual universe, but all entries must include at least one of the stories OCs. I'll start the first drawing on March 1, but if you're just reading, don't worry. I plan to continue this for a while


	44. Important: Chapter addition notice

So, I forgot to give a heads up... My bad. I refreshed a lot of this, so random, in between chapter thingies are all gone. I added 3 chapters, so you should probably go back a few to double check what you've missed. Sorry for the inconvenience. I also went through for a double check on spelling and stuff.


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